Letter of Marque
by Gemini1
Summary: Sequel to Between the Devil and the Deep, Kaoru and her crew go in search of an old friend who's gone missing and run afoul of a corrupt Navy Admiral. 8.22.05 I've edited the story a bit, for better flow and plot.
1. Missing

**Letter of Marque**  
_Sequel to Between the Devil and the Deep_  
A Rurouni Kenshin AU Fic  
by Gemini  
  
**Rated R**: For cursing and other naughty things  
  
**Disclaimer:** This Rurouni Kenshin franchise is owned and operated by Earl "Nobuhiro" Watsuki,  
Tim "Shonen" Jump and "Sony" Jones. There are also a few silent partners I can't recall.  
  
  
**The events in this story take place one year after the end of 'Between the Devil and the Deep' **  
  
**Chapter 1 : Missing**  
  
The wharf-side tavern had, quite possibly, never seen better days. Its outer decorations included three drunk and passed out bums, a weathered wooden sign so battered by the elements that the name of the place was no longer visible and a large front window with glass panes so filthy it was impossible to see in or out. Kaoru loved it and never missed a chance to visit when her ship was docked.   
  
The dark, musty corners lent themselves exceedingly well to clandestine meetings and the bar's staff and regular patrons knew not to ask questions or be curious about what went on there. That the beer was more water than hops, that the entire establishment reeked of smells better left to the imagination and that there were more rats than paying customers didn't bother her in the least. The Cat O'Nine Tails was her absolute favorite dive.   
  
She had arrived an hour ago and sat patiently waiting for Sano to return with some information. She entertained herself by watching the other customers, the usual drunken rabble that was to be found in a place such as this and by shooing off inebriated and therefore uninhibited potential suitors. She finally got so annoyed she pulled out her rather wicked hunting knife, over 12 inches of razor sharp tempered steel, and spent her time toying with it in ways that kept the amorous men at bay.   
  
"Someone trying to get into your britches?" Sano dropped down into the seat next to her, wincing slightly as the rickety old chair groaned and threatened to give way. The bartender immediately swooped by with a mostly clean mug of weak beer for him. He always treated his regulars well, especially the dangerous ones.   
  
"What did you find out?" Kaoru asked, ignoring his question. Now that Sano was around to scare off anyone stupid enough to approach her, she put her knife away and began playing with her mug of warm watery beer, twirling the glass in her hands.   
  
"No one's seen him in a while, about a month, I reckon." Sano said quietly, taking a swig of beer.   
  
"And they don't know anything? Like what he was doing?" Kaoru leaned forward, her brow furrowed in worry.   
  
Sano shook his head. "The best I got was out of old Kuro, you know, at the print shop? He said that Katsu had been acting real strange for a while, kept talking about corruption and the Navy."   
  
Kaoru cursed softly. "That idiot. How much you want to bet that he's gotten himself into some sort of trouble?" She muttered.   
  
"I'm not gonna take that bet, Captain, 'cause the odds are shitty. Do you think he's dead?" He scowled, not wanting to think about his old buddy being six feet under.   
  
"I hope not, but knowing what an idiot he can be, it's a possibility." Kaoru murmured, pushing her mug of beer away, feeling slightly ill.   
  
"Well, now what?" Sano downed the rest of his beer in one gulp.   
  
"Well, I guess we're going to have to find out what happened to the moron." Kaoru replied, tapping her fingers thoughtfully on the worn, splintered old table.   
  
"Where do we start?"   
  
"With the Navy." She felt a small twinge at that, a tiny little burst of hope that maybe she'd see Kenshin again. The moment quickly passed and she buried the thought, her rational mind telling her that it had already been decided between the two of them, that they both knew it could never work. Besides, he was getting married.  
  


* * *

**A/N:** This chapter is more of a teaser than a chapter, just to show what's going on.   
What?! Kenshin's getting married? (ducks flying bricks) Lord, it's fun to be evil, except for the bricks. Where's the Advil?  
Appearances by Okita, and the rest of the Shinsengumi (because these days I'm addicted to Peacemaker Kurogane) Tae,Katsu and some surprise guests! Wahoo! Stay tuned and thanks for your nice (and scary) reviews for BTDATD.   



	2. Found

** Letter of Marque **  
_ Sequel to Between the Devil and the Deep _  
A Rurouni Kenshin AU Fic   
by Gemini   
  
** Rated R:** For cursing and other naughty things   
  
** Disclaimer:** This Rurouni Kenshin franchise is owned and operated by Earl "Nobuhiro" Watsuki,   
Tim "Shonen" Jump and "Sony" Jones. There are also a few silent partners I can't recall.   
_  
The events in this story take place one year after the end of 'Between the Devil and the Deep'_   


* * *

**Chapter 2: Found**  


* * *

  
  
"Tell me again why I have to go to this thing Yahiko?" Kenshin grumbled as he shrugged on his dress uniform coat.   
  
"Because Mrs. Sekihara would be very offended if you didn't." Yahiko replied from his perch on his guardian's bed. "And you DO NOT want to get her mad."   
  
"True." Kenshin straightened his coat and adjusted his tie. "How do I look?" He asked the boy, spreading his arms for inspection.   
  
Yahiko sat back to get a better look at the older man. "Good. I bet the ladies will be all over you tonight." he said with a mischievous grin.   
  
Kenshin sighed. "That is precisely what I don't want. Why did Tae have to invite me to this party? She knows I hate going to society functions."   
  
"Probably because she wants to see you married off." Yahiko replied, with the strange wisdom of an extremely observant nine year old.   
  
Kenshin raised an eyebrow. "You've been listening to the cooks again, haven't you?" he accused.   
  
"It was the maids, actually, and they have a lot of interesting things to say." Yahiko replied innocently.   
  
"I have no doubt." Kenshin said, all the while thinking to himself that he should have a little talk with the help.   
  
"Do you think Yuki will be there?" Yahiko asked, trying and failing to be artless.   
  
Kenshin scowled. "Probably. Yet another reason to avoid the Sekihara mansion tonight."   
  
Yahiko giggled. "She's a pretty interesting lady. She makes you nervous."   
  
"She makes me nervous because I'm not entirely sure she's sane. I'm certain her mother isn't." Kenshin sighed.   
  
Yahiko burst into gales of laughter, rolling around on Kenshin's bed.   
  
Kenshin smiled at the young boy's laughter, all the while feeling slightly guilty about having this conversation with a nine year old. Still, over the past year he had found that once Yahiko came out of his shell, he proved to be quite intelligent and observant. It was easy to forget how old he was sometimes.   
  
While he waited for Yahiko to calm down, Kenshin pondered the problem of Yuki Hidaka. The young woman had decided that she would marry him and no amount of protestation on his part would change her mind. As far as she and her horrible mother were concerned, all that needed to be done was set the wedding date. Local gossips had already honed in on the juicy story, much to Kenshin's total irritation, their wagging tongues inventing love where there was none or speculating on the reasons for his seeming indifference. They couldn't seem to wrap their minds around the fact that he simply did not like her.   
  
But why shouldn't he like her? She was a beautiful young woman with her own fortune to recommend her and many felt that Kenshin was being terribly stupid by dragging his feet and avoiding her. But Yuki Hidaka had the intellectual capacity of a sponge, her vapid expressions about as beautiful to him as a barnacle on the hull of his ship. He had his own money with no need for more and besides all of that, there was also the fact that he was already in love with someone else.   
  
He sighed. He often thought of Kaoru, especially when confronted with Yuki. He spent a lot of time comparing the two and the society belle always came up woefully short against the pirate captain. That fact made his lips tic upwards at the irony of it all. He should want to marry Yuki and kill Kaoru, not the other way around.   
  
"Kenshin, it's almost seven, you're going to be late." Yahiko piped up lazily from the bed.   
  
The smile disappeared. "Right, right." Kenshin grumbled. He turned and regarded the boy with a stern gaze. "You will be in bed by ten o'clock, no later and I don't want you gossiping with the staff, you pick up all sorts of bad ideas."   
  
Yahiko rolled his eyes. They both knew that the minute Kenshin left, the boy would be down in the kitchen, snitching food and listening for interesting tidbits of information. His guardian tolerated it only because he found it secretly useful to know what was going on under his own roof.   
  
"Yes sir." Yahiko said with a mock salute.   
  
Kenshin grinned and ruffled the boy's hair, ignoring his yelped protests. "Pray for me, Yahiko, I'm off to run the gauntlet."  
  
"Good luck and God Speed, Captain." Yahiko intoned. Kenshin laughed and bid the boy good night.   
  
He didn't bother taking his carriage. Tae was his next door neighbor, after all. True, she wasn't exactly "next door", more like two miles away, but he hoped that the cool night air would calm him before he arrived at Tae's for a night of torture.   
  
He got about a mile and half down the road before the Sekihara mansion came into view. The entire house was lit up and he could hear strains of music and laughter. Tae never did anything small and her parties were no exception. It locked in a person's social status to be invited to one of her events, and if you weren't invited, then you obviously didn't matter. Kenshin had always politely declined Tae's invitations, but she had recently become quite impatient with him and threatened pain and possibly death if he didn't come to this one.   
  
Kenshin sighed and did a final check of his person to make sure he was in order before stepping onto the gravel driveway and walking reluctantly up to Tae's front door.  
  
"Captain Kenshin Himura!" The butler announced and the crowd buzzed. Kenshin fought the urge to roll his eyes. Why on earth did Tae insist on having each and every guest announced? Probably so she could catch any party crashers, he thought wryly.   
  
The woman herself swooped down on him as he stepped into the formal parlor. "Kenshin! You naughty man, I was almost certain you weren't coming!"   
  
He smiled politely. "But you yourself ordered me to come, upon pain of death, if I remember correctly."   
  
She tittered behind her hand. "Well, I'm happy to see that it worked. Remind me to threaten you more in the future."   
  
He nodded seriously. "I shall make a point of it."   
  
Tae smiled and slipped her arm into his. "Let's make the rounds, shall we?"   
  
He almost sighed again, but stopped himself. He didn't want to offend Tae, he was genuinely fond of her. They had been neighbors for years, but he really hadn't gotten to know her until he had brought Yahiko home. At a loss for what to do with a child, he had gone to his only neighbor for advice, as she had a daughter of her own. She had proven to be enormously helpful and the two had become friends. Kenshin just wished she hadn't decided to make getting him a wife her personal project.   
  
She towed him around the room, introducing him to every lovely young single woman she found. The proportion of eligible young women to regular party guests was staggeringly large and as she pulled him towards yet another giggling girl, he became rather suspicious. It felt like he was being auctioned off.   
  
"Tae?" he whispered. "There seem to be a rather large number of young women here tonight, more than usual."  
  
"Oh? I hadn't noticed." she replied, looking sly.   
  
This time, he did allow himself to sigh. "Tae, you know that I'm not interested in finding a wife." He murmured.   
  
"Nonsense! You and Yahiko need someone to take care of the two of you." She replied with an air of condescension.   
  
"We do. We have maids and cooks…"   
  
"That's not what I meant and you know it. Yahiko needs a mother and you…rattling around in that big house, practically alone…it depresses me to think about it." She shook her head.   
  
He wanted to say more, but he was stopped by the feeling of utter dread that suddenly engulfed him. The feeling he only got when…  
  
"Madame Hidaka and daughter, Yuki Hidaka." The butler intoned.  
  
Kenshin groaned. "Oh no…not them. You invited them, too?" He looked at Tae, feeling betrayed.   
  
"I had to." Tae whispered back apologetically. "The Hidaka family is very important; to not invite them would have been social suicide."   
  
"Suicide sounds very tempting right now." He muttered under his breath as Yuki made a beeline for him.   
  
"Just smile and nod. Smile and nod." Tae murmured, a fake smile plastered on her face.   
  
"Miss Hidaka, how pleasant it is to see you again." Tae said brightly to the young woman as she approached.   
  
Yuki's smile was equally saccharine. "You know mother and I would never miss one of your parties, Madame Sekihara." She said, her eyes on Kenshin.   
  
Kenshin bowed stiffly. "Miss Hidaka." He said, trying not to be obvious about his dislike.   
  
"Oh, Kenshin!" She tittered, using his first name loudly, so that everyone in the room would know they were on a first name basis. "You know you can call me Yuki." She slid her arm into his free one and batted her eyelashes at him.   
  
He almost lost it right then, but Tae pinched him hard in the side as she withdrew her arm. "Play nice." She hissed, sotto voce, stepping away slightly.   
  
Kenshin gritted his teeth and managed a pained smile. "Forgive me, Miss Hidaka, but it would be terribly rude for me to be so familiar with you." He said politely, hoping she would get the point.   
  
As usual, it sailed right over her head. She pressed against him and smiled seductively. "Oh, Kenshin, you can be familiar with me any time you like."   
  
Tae bit back a giggle and he glared at her over Yuki's head.   
  
"Oh, Captain Himura! I see Yuki's found you! You can't imagine how happy we were when we heard you were attending this party! It's ever so very nice to see you, especially when you're so hard to get a hold of." Yuki's mother, Ayaka, plowed through the crowd towards them, her voice high and reminding him of nails on a black board. She attached herself leech-like to his other arm, practically pushing Tae out of the way.   
"A pleasure to see you as well, Madame Sekihara." She said as an afterthought.   
  
"Indeed." Tae replied archly. She gave Kenshin an apologetic look and withdrew to greet her other guests.   
  
Kenshin resolved himself to get through the evening without drawing the ornamental sword that hung on his side and using it either on the two giggling morons attached to his arms or on himself, no matter how tempting it might be.   
  
"Madame Hamaguchi, with guests Keiko Fujiwara and Hiroshi Fujiwara." The butler announced over the crowd. Kenshin wasn't particularly interested in who had just walked through the door, he was more concerned with how to detach himself from the two women currently stuck onto him. Until he looked up and saw…her.   
  
Kaoru Kamiya had just unexpectedly walked back into his life.   


* * *

**A/N:** I wasn't going to post this just yet, but I decided that today wasn't a good day to die. So, here you go. Agony over. Kenshin isn't getting married, Yuki's just psycho. A real bunny boiler, that one. More chapters coming, but not necessarily soon. I've got final assignments due, the holidays are looming and I'm moving. Don't worry, though, I'll definitely update a few times before the New Year.  
  
I'm glad most of you decided that I ended 'BTDATD' the right way. I'm also glad that when I started my car this afternoon, it didn't explode. Thanks for the reviews! You guys make me happy.   



	3. Blackmail

**Letter of Marque**  
_Sequel to Between the Devil and the Deep_  
A Rurouni Kenshin AU Fic  
by Gemini

**Rated R**: For cursing and other naughty things

**Disclaimer:** This Rurouni Kenshin franchise is owned and operated by Earl "Nobuhiro" Watsuki,  
Tim "Shonen" Jump and "Sony" Jones. There are also a few silent partners I can't recall.

**The events in this story take place one year after the end of 'Between the Devil and the Deep' **

**Chapter 3: Blackmail  
**  
Not a new chapter, but someone pointed out that Tae called Kaoru by her real name and, well, Tae doesn't know  
her real name. My mistake. Argh. So, it's fixed. Thanks for pointing that out!

Kaoru tried to take a deep breath to calm herself before she and Aoshi crashed Tae Sekihara's party, but unfortunately, her corset was preventing all but the shallowest of breaths. "Fuck. I think I'm going to pass out." She hissed.

Aoshi, who was currently trying to prevent himself from loosening the tie around his neck that Misao had nearly garroted him with, merely grunted in response.

Their escort for the evening, Maiko Hamaguchi, turned around and gave them both a baleful glare. "Listen to me you two, I am taking a considerable risk bringing you here tonight and vouching for your identities. I'd really prefer it if you could at least try to pretend to be of gentle birth."

Kaoru sighed, or at least attempted to. "I'm sorry, Aunt Maiko. We'll try."

Maiko shook her head. "Your mother, Lord rest her soul, would be scandalized by your behavior, Kaoru. She might have been married to a pirate, but she was a lady."

The younger woman's shoulders slumped and Maiko's expression softened. "I'm sorry to be so harsh, dear, it's just that, well…your mother was my best friend and she had such high hopes for you…" She broke off when the butler opened the front door.

"Invitation?" The butler asked officiously. Maiko handed him the heavy cream colored card and gave their names.

He ushered them into the grand entrance hall and loudly announced their arrival, much to Kaoru and Aoshi's mortification.

Kaoru slipped her arm into Aoshi's and held on for dear life, plastering a smile on her face, hoping to appear normal.

Her eyes roved from one privileged face to another, wondering which one was the Admiral Kamo Serizawa, the man she and Aoshi were looking for. Suddenly, a completely unexpected face entered her field of vision and she felt herself pale. Captain Kenshin Himura was staring back at her, looking as though he had just seen a ghost.

Aoshi glanced down at her when her grip tightened almost painfully on his arm. Following her gaze, he immediately recognized the Captain. "Shit." He cursed under his breath.

Before Kaoru could formulate a plan, or even a coherent thought amidst all the confused emotions currently overtaking her mind, the party's hostess, Tae Sekihara, swooped down on the three of them.

"Maiko, you made it after all!" She exclaimed as she hugged her friend. "I am very happy to see you, it's been ages!" Tae gave her friend one last squeeze before turning to the pair standing behind them, still as statues.

"And who are your friends? I don't believe I've had the honor…"

Maiko smiled, years of living in high society having honed her acting ability. "Oh, Tae, my dear, I hope you don't mind me bringing them. This is Keiko and Hiroshi Fujiwara. They are distant cousins to my late husband who have come from the country to visit. I might not have imposed, but they did so much want to come to one of your famous parties."

Flattered, Tae smiled brightly and took Kaoru's free hand. "No, no, you two are welcome in my home. So, Keiko and Hiroshi, are you husband and wife?"

Kaoru blinked in surprise. "No, brother and sister." She replied.

"And are either of you married?" Tae asked, eyeing Kaoru speculatively.

"Oh, no, I'm not, but my brother is spoken for." Kaoru replied, slightly confused. Aoshi pinched her arm at her off-handed acknowledgement of his and Misao's relationship. She gritted her teeth in pain, but said nothing.

"Wonderful!" Tae clapped her hands together. "Let me introduce you around, Keiko." Ignoring Aoshi, she took Kaoru's arm and led her towards the banquet hall. "Maiko, will you please make sure Hiroshi gets acquainted with the guests as well?" She called over her shoulder, smiling brilliantly at her friend.

Maiko nodded, a slightly amused glint in her eye. She took Aoshi's arm and steered him towards the party. "Looks like she's decided to make Kaoru a project." She observed.

"Project?" Aoshi frowned, confused.

Maiko giggled. "Tae has a bit of an obsession when it comes to matchmaking. She can't stand the idea of someone who is of marriageable age not being married or at least engaged."

Aoshi sighed. "I doubt she'll get very far with Kaoru. She's not the marrying type."

"Nonsense! She just needs to find the right man to settle down with." Maiko replied, waving to a friend across the room.

Privately, Aoshi disagreed, Kaoru was not the type to ever settle down, but he kept his mouth shut and allowed her to drag him around the room.

Tae introduced Kaoru to several single young men, all rich and reasonably good looking. None of them had anything interesting to say, however, and Kaoru found her eyes straying back to where Kenshin was standing. He was looking around the room, perhaps trying to locate her. She was glad he didn't know where she was at the moment, it gave her time to study the young woman currently attached to him.

She was pretty, in a delicate lady-like way, with thick black hair pinned up in the latest style. Large diamond tear drops decorated her ears and her wrists were similarly adorned, so much so that she seemed to sparkle every time she moved. Her dress was daringly low cut, frothy with lace and beading. Her pretty mouth was set in a pout that Kaoru was almost certain she must practice in the mirror everyday to achieve maximum results with men.

Kaoru's eyes weren't the only ones on the young woman. Many of the men in the room were also staring, occasionally directing envious glances at Kenshin. Kaoru was glad her corset prevented her from sighing. The young woman on his arm must be the fiancée she had heard gossip about. The stab of jealousy she felt in her gut annoyed her and she wished she didn't care that Kenshin was getting married. But she did, and seeing him with his gorgeous fiancée hurt her more than she could have ever imagined it would.

"Keiko?" Tae gently patted Kaoru's arm, bring her attention back to the hostess.

"Oh, I am terribly sorry, Madame Sekihara, my mind wandered." Kaoru apologized.

A smile played over Tae's lips. "He is quite handsome, isn't he?" she asked.

Kaoru colored slightly. "Who?"

Tae tittered. "Captain Kenshin Himura." She replied. "The handsome young man you've been staring at all night."

Kaoru's blush intensified; she was mortified at being caught.

"Oh, I don't blame you one bit. I must admit, if I wasn't a married woman…" Tae trailed off with a laugh. "Well, never mind. Anyway, it's quite scandalous how that Yuki Hidaka has thrown herself at him, and poor Kenshin wants nothing to do with her."  
Kaoru's ears perked up. "What?"

Tae leaned in, eager to share the gossip. "That woman who's all but draped herself over him is Yuki Hidaka. She and her mother are quite important socially, but rumor has it that Madame Hidaka's late husband gambled all their money away, so she's trying to marry her daughter off to the richest man they can find."

"Captain Himura's rich?" Kaoru couldn't hide her surprise. "I was aware that Naval Captains did well for themselves, but I'd never venture to accuse them of being wealthy."

"Well, Captain Himura's wealth doesn't come from the Navy. He inherited it, when he turned 25. It's quite a sad story, really." Tae replied, shaking her head.

Kaoru lifted an eyebrow.

Seeing her interest and always willing to share a good story, Tae motioned Kaoru closer.

"From what I understand, Captain Himura's parents died when he was a little boy and he was sent to live with a distant relative who didn't want him. Now, he comes from a very wealthy family on his mother's side and when they died, he inherited everything, including a large estate in the north. But since he was a little boy, everything was put into trust until he was older. His relative, an uncle, I think, didn't tell him he had any money, so poor Captain Himura felt that he was entirely in the man's debt. Well, when he was fourteen or so, he fell in love with a servant's daughter." Tae paused here and shook her head sadly. "When his uncle found out, he was furious and cut Captain Himura off entirely, so he joined the Navy. He and the girl decided that when he made enough money to support them, they would get married. But he was gone almost all the time, and she was lonely, I guess, and eventually, she fell in love with someone else. By the time poor Captain Himura had been promoted to Captain, the youngest in Navy history, I might add, she was engaged to this other man. He was quite devastated."

Kaoru looked over at Kenshin, who was still scanning the crowd for her and felt a strange lurch in her stomach. Did he still love that woman? Who was she?

Tae wasn't finished with her story. "Well, all this would have been enough, except that last year, he found out this woman, who had married a minister and spent most of her time working with the poor, had contracted a deadly disease and died, along with her husband."

Suddenly, Kaoru had an inkling where Tae was going with this tale.

"The woman had a son, named Yahiko, and when she died, she left him in Captain Himura's care. It was quite a shock to the poor man. Not only to have the woman he loved die, but to suddenly be a father? And then, when he was sailing back with the boy, their ship was sunk in a storm and the two of them nearly died. Luckily, they were rescued by a passing ship." Tae was quite enjoying herself. "Captain Himura has proven to be a rather good father to that little boy. But I keep telling him he needs to find a wife, anyone, except of course, Yuki, but he won't listen to me. He's quite stubborn."

Kaoru listened to this virtual stranger spill out the details of Kenshin's life with fascination. She had picked up bits of similar information in the year since she had last seen him, but Tae had truly shed some new light on the man. She glanced at him again, and this time she caught his eye.

He raised an eyebrow at her, a silent question.

She frowned and turned away, bringing her attention back to Tae, who was still prattling on about how Kenshin needed to stop being so stubborn and marry.

"So he's not engaged to this Yuki?" she asked her hostess.

"Heavens, no! I'd venture to say that he dislikes her quite a bit. He's been trying to figure out a way to get rid of her and her mother for months without being rude, but I'm fairly certain that he'll have to resort to being rude in the near future or else he'll find himself at the altar." Tae laughed. "They've practically got the invitations drawn up."

Kaoru wanted to laugh out loud in relief, but she was fairly certain that would be highly inappropriate. Instead, she began to formulate a plan. "Madame Sekihara, I have heard wonderful things about your gardens. Would you be so kind as to direct me to them?"

Tae perked up, she was rather proud of her gardens. "Well certainly. I'd be happy to give you a tour, if you'd like."

"Oh no, I couldn't be so rude as to take you away from your guests, Madame Sekihara, just point the way and I'll give myself a tour." Kaoru responded.

Tae smiled. "All right, all you need to do is go out those large doors at the back of the room and that will put you on the patio. The gardens are right there." She pointed toward an ornate pair of glass and wood doors.

Kaoru gave her thanks and began winding her way through the room towards the doors. She glanced back at Kenshin and then at the doors, hoping he'd get the message. As nonchalantly as possible, she slipped outside and onto the patio, gasping slightly when she saw the grounds. Tae's gardens were truly beautiful. In honor of the party, there were small, delicate lanterns sprinkled about, giving the whole area an almost magical feeling. A marble water fountain complete with fat, smiling cherubim sprayed water into the cool night air. She studied it for a moment before stepping onto the ornately carved stones that formed the walkway that wound through the carefully placed rose bushes, hedges, flower beds and trees.

Lifting her skirts so they wouldn't drag on the ground, she followed the pathway until she reached a secluded little niche, formed by the intersection of two hedges. There she stood in breathless anticipation, hoping Kenshin would have gotten the hint and followed her.

Just as she was about to give up, she heard a quick, assured step approaching. A moment later, he appeared, looking dashing in his Captain's uniform. "Kenshin." She whispered, catching his attention.

Of all the greetings she expected from him, the one he chose surprised her. Instead of asking her how she was or what she was doing there, he grabbed her, looping one strong arm around her waist and cradling her face with his free hand. She didn't have time to protest before his mouth descended upon hers and she was drowning in him.

Eventually, they had to break apart, breathing being rather difficult.

Gasping for air, Kaoru managed a faint, "Well, hello to you, too."

Kenshin chuckled and ran a gloved finger down her cheek in a move that was oddly possessive. "Nice to see you." He replied.

They stood in silence for a long moment; before he finally asked her the question she had been dreading.

"Not that I'm unhappy to see you, Kaoru, but it didn't escape my notice that you're here as Keiko Fujiwara. Just what is going on?" He asked, quirking an elegant eyebrow.

Kaoru pushed away from him. "Nothing you need to worry about. I'm here doing surveillance."

"Since when do pirates do surveillance? Are you planning on robbing Tae?" He joked.

She frowned. "No, I'm not planning on robbing Tae. And, I can't tell you anything else."

He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Not another mission. Who are you saving this time?"

"Listen to me, Kenshin, I need you to understand, this does not involve you. And I am not about to put either your person or your career in danger. Just pretend you don't know me." She said seriously.

He leaned forward, pinning her between his body and the shrub. "How could I pretend not to know you when all I want to do is kiss you?"

She blushed. "Well, fight the urge. Go back inside and busy yourself with fending off the advances of that barracuda."

He smiled. "Jealous?"

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Kaoru pushed him away and scowled. "Quit it! Just go back inside and pretend you don't know me, okay? I have work to do."

He tapped his chin thoughtfully for a moment before responding. "I will, if you do something for me."

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you blackmailing me?"

"Perhaps. Are you going to hear me out, or am I going to have to start calling you Kaoru in front of the party guests?" His smile turned wicked.

She huffed but waived at him to continue.

"Come to my house tomorrow. I want to see you without having to hide in the bushes." He stepped close to her, one gloved hand moving to hold her arm so she couldn't escape. "I live two miles south of here." He leaned forward and brushed his lips across hers, not quite a kiss. "I expect you to join me for lunch. Yahiko will be thrilled to see you."

She scowled, chafing at the idea of being ordered around by a man, even one she was in love with.

"Do we have a deal?" He asked, tightening his hold on her arm.

She hesitated, wondering if she should call his bluff. She sincerely doubted that he'd do anything to endanger her, after all. The trouble was that she did want to see him again. Finally, after a long silent moment, she nodded. "Fine. I'll be there."

He released her arm. "Good. We have a lot to talk about. It's been a whole year since I saw you last, after all."

"Kenshin? Keennsshhiinnnn!" Yuki's voice sang out over the bushes. "Mama saw you come out here, where are you, darling?"

"Shit." Kenshin cursed. "That woman…I swear…"

Kaoru giggled. "She seems quite…charming." She said coyly. She stepped back and smiled brightly. "I'll leave you to your lady love, Captain. Until tomorrow." She waved and disappeared into the dark recess of an unlit portion of Tae's garden, leaving Kenshin to fend off the amorous advances of the 'barracuda' completely on his own.

Sighing, he raked a hand through his hair and set off down the path towards where Yuki was standing, hollering for him.

"There you are! Why didn't you tell me you wanted to walk in the gardens? I would have gladly gone with you. It's so romantic…" Yuki took his arm and beamed up at him.

He gritted his teeth and swallowed a rude retort. 'I'll get you for this tomorrow, Kaoru.' He thought and smiled.

**A/N:** Sigh. November completely sucked, people. D-E-P-R-E-S-S-I-N-G.

I actually had a completely different chapter written up, but then today, I sat down in a rage and typed up this bad boy. I've been feeling extra pirate-y lately thanks to the DVD release of 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and the news that there will be a sequel with the original actors. (At least, according to this magazine I read). So, rock on.

Anyway, plot points, plot points...

Um, Serizawa Kamo was a real guy in the Shinsengumi. He was a bad, bad man who abused the power that the 'gumi had and  
so was drummed out of the corps, as it were. With a sword. I thought he would make a perfect bad guy.

So, what was Katsu up to? What did he find out? Seriously, tell me 'cause I don't know.

I'm in the middle of moving and attempting to salvage a few important aspects of my life, so I can't promise super fast updates, but I'll try to get at least two more chapters out before the New Year. Thanks for all your feedback. Nothing motivates like swords. Of course, if you promised me cookies and Orlando Bloom, I might be motivated to write faster. Heh.


	4. Jealousy

**Letter of Marque**  
_Sequel to Between the Devil and the Deep_  
A Rurouni Kenshin AU Fic  
by Gemini

**Rated R**: For cursing and other naughty things

**Disclaimer:** This Rurouni Kenshin franchise is owned and operated by Earl "Nobuhiro" Watsuki,  
Tim "Shonen" Jump and "Sony" Jones. There are also a few silent partners I can't recall.

**The events in this story take place one year after the end of 'Between the Devil and the Deep'**

**Chapter 4: Jealousy**

"So then, she had an affair with her husband's valet…" Maiko Hamaguchi was a regular font of useless gossip and information, Aoshi discovered part way through the evening. Even though he was only half listening to her, he still picked up more dirt on the members of the upper class than he needed. He kept pleasant expression on his face and nodded occasionally, just to make her believe he was actually listening to her.

In fact, most of his attention was focused on the set of elaborate glass doors he had seen Kaoru slip through almost twenty minutes earlier, followed shortly thereafter by Captain Himura. He almost frowned, but kept his expression carefully neutral, even as he worried about Kaoru and what was happening with the Captain.

When Kaoru finally reappeared, looking amused about something, he relaxed. She wasn't angry or upset, so things must have gone well. She caught Aoshi's eye and smiled. Things must have gone well indeed, he mused, noting that her hair was slightly mussed and her lips were rosy and kiss-swollen. He cocked an eyebrow at her and ran his hand over his hair meaningfully. She caught a reflection of herself in the glass doors and turned pink.

He had to work to contain the smirk that threatened to appear at her horrified expression. Seeing Kaoru flustered was a rare occurrence and every moment of it had to be savored. With an expression of extreme embarrassment, Kaoru vanished into another room, no doubt looking for a mirror and some privacy so she could make herself look a bit less debauched.

Captain Himura looked decidedly less happy when he emerged from Tae's gardens a few minutes later, Yuki Hidaka hanging off his arm. His face assumed an almost martyr-like expression when Yuki's mother appeared and dragged him towards a gaggle of giggling girls, clearly friends of Yuki. Aoshi suppressed another grin, no doubt finding more humor in the situation than Captain Himura did.

Kaoru re-entered the room a few moments later, looking more respectable. She shot Aoshi a dirty look as she made her way through the crowds, her expression effectively neutralizing any sarcastic remarks he might have been prepared to give when she joined them.

"Did you enjoy Tae's gardens?" Maiko asked the younger woman as she took her place by Aoshi's side, unaware of the tension between her two guests. "I saw you slip out there a little while ago."

A slight flush crept up Kaoru's neck. She smiled tightly at her friend. "Yes, I enjoyed them quite a bit."

Aoshi's chuckle turned into a grunt thanks in great part to the elbow Kaoru shoved into his side.

Maiko raised an eyebrow at both of them, but shrugged it off. 'Must be a pirate thing.' She mused. As she was constantly confronted with the strange and unusual habits of Kaoru and her crew, she had long ago learned to simply write them off as normal pirate behavior.

"Tell me, Auntie Maiko, which one of these men is Admiral Kamo Serizawa?" Kaoru asked, bringing her friend out of her musings about pirates.

"Admiral Serizawa?" Maiko pursed her lips and scanned the room. "I don't…" She paused and frowned slightly. "Wait, I think that is him…over there, by the musicians." She gestured in the direction of a string quartet, which had set up shop on a small dais provided by Tae, playing elegant compositions that could barely be heard over the crowd.

Kaoru's eyes followed the gesture and she found the tall, distinguished looking man, quite handsome in his full dress uniform. He had jet-black hair and a severe look on his face, but he didn't seem to her to match the descriptions she had of the Admiral. "That man? The one standing next to that wall?" she asked Maiko, quite puzzled.

"No, no. That is Admiral Hijikata. Admiral Serizawa is the man he's talking to." Maiko replied.

Kaoru's eyes skipped from the tall man to his shorter, pudgier companion, whom she had missed in her initial once over of Admiral Hijikata. Brown hair, dark eyes and a perpetual sneer: that was Admiral Serizawa to the letter. His dress uniform was ill fitting, clearly intended for someone thinner. The Admiral looked like a man who had once been in good shape, but too much rich food and drink had softened him around the middle and added jowls to a face that might have once been considered handsome. From her informants, she knew he was in his early forties, widowed with no children and had a taste for young, innocent girls.

Though he mainly amused himself with a long stream of ignorant country maids, he occasionally turned his sights to the daughters of his contemporaries, much to their dismay. Kaoru knew, for instance, that earlier in the year, he had been challenged to a duel to avenge the honor of a titled gentleman's daughter, who had fallen into the Admiral's clutches. Sadly, the Admiral was victorious; the girl's father was sent home with a mortal wound, and her reputation remained tarnished. Kaoru knew all this and more about the Admiral, making her job rather difficult since she'd rather kill him than kiss him.

"Thank you, Auntie Maiko." Kaoru said quietly, patting her hair and smoothing her dress. "I think I'll go introduce myself."

Maiko frowned. "To the Admiral? Kaoru…you must know, he has a terrible reputation when it comes to young ladies. He once…"

Kaoru held up a hand to silence the older woman. "I know. I've heard all the sordid details. Unfortunately, he is the man I have to get to know." She sighed and a frown graced her features for a moment before disappearing behind a genial mask. "I wish I didn't have to, but, unfortunately, I fit the profile for the sort of girl he prefers. If only he liked men. Then I could have sent Aoshi, or even Sano."

Aoshi scowled. "I sincerely hope you're joking."

She smiled at him. "Maybe I was. Anyway, wish me luck." With a wink to her companions, she started off, weaving through the crowd towards where the two men were standing, engaged in a serious conversation, judging by their somber expressions. She stopped a few feet away from the string quartet, tilting her head and arranging her expression into one of appreciation, which wasn't difficult since the musicians were rather talented.

She closed her eyes and listened, letting the music wash over her. Unbeknownst to her, a small smile blossomed on her lips. Standing at the foot of the dais, with her smiling expression, she made a pretty picture.

When the quartet finished the piece with a triumphant flurry of bows, she opened her eyes and applauded loudly.

"They are quite good, aren't they?"

Kaoru started and turned to see who was addressing her. The Admiral Kamo Serizawa stood smiling at her elbow, blatantly appraising her figure.  
She swallowed the rude retort that was her immediate reaction and instead offered him a warm smile. "Quite. I've never heard anything like it." Kaoru replied shyly. "We don't have people nearly as talented like this at home."

"And where is home, my lady?" He smiled pleasantly at her, but she saw the lust in his eyes and had to suppress a shiver. The last time she had seen such an expression in a man's eyes… She could almost feel the dirty hands on her, smell the acrid stench of sweat, hear the rough voices and her own screams…

"My lady?" The Admiral tapped her arm politely with his index finger and she had to call upon every ounce of control she had not to shriek and push him away.

'Get a fucking grip, Kaoru!' she told herself silently. 'Those men are dead…they can't hurt you anymore.'

"I'm sorry, sir, my mind wandered. What did you ask?" She smiled at him as prettily as she could, hoping to distract him from her strange actions.

"I asked where you were from." He said, raising an eyebrow.

She named a distant northern province and he proclaimed that he had never been there. "Tell me about it. Are all the young ladies there as beautiful as you?"

She fought the urge to roll her eyes and instead giggled, quite vapidly. "Oh, there are many girls prettier than me, sir." She said modestly.

"I doubt it." He said, leaning forward so that their faces were intimately close. "Would you please put me out of my agony and tell me your name, my lady? It was a breach of etiquette for me not to ask in the first place."

"My name is Keiko Fujiwara, sir. Now, may I be so bold as to ask yours?" She asked coyly.

"Admiral Kamo Serizawa." He said proudly, stepping out of her personal space long enough to bow.

"Ooh, I've never met a real admiral before." She wanted to smack herself for acting so stupid. It went against every fiber in her being. "You must be a very important man."

He smirked. "Advisor to the Emperor himself, my dear lady."

She pretended to be impressed. "Oh, you must tell me…what is he like?"

The Admiral stepped closer to her than she would have liked and smiled. "Well, he is very dependant on my opinion…"

Kenshin frowned over the head of his supposed fiancée, wondering why Kaoru was flirting with another man, especially one as despicable as Admiral Kamo Serizawa.

His frown deepened when the Admiral stepped indecently close to her and began some sort of intimate conversation. She giggled and cooed, batting her eyelashes and offering up dazzling smiles. Kenshin felt his chest tighten. What was she doing? Maybe it had something to do with her mission, but what sort of mission would have her throwing herself at another man? Was she doing this to make him jealous? Revenge for his non-existent engagement?

His hand drifted down to rest on the hilt of his ornamental sword as he entertained ideas of running said blade through the Admiral, who dared to run a finger over Kaoru's cheek in a thoroughly inappropriate manner. He had to admit to himself that he was quite jealous. He and Kaoru had only a few passionate moments between them, and he had been denied such every day affections as the ones she was currently lavishing on the Admiral. She never smiled at him like that. His jaw tightened.

"Captain Himura? Might I have a word?"

Kenshin looked over and discovered Aoshi, blank faced as usual, standing nearby. "I have a few questions concerning the navy, and Madame Sekihara suggested you as the man to talk to."

Kenshin forced a smile and gratefully disentangled himself from Yuki. "Certainly." He turned and nodded politely to the women. "Excuse me, ladies." Ignoring their protests, he followed Aoshi into a relatively private corner.

"I see the way you're looking at her, Captain Himura, and I must ask you to do nothing. You could cause us quite a bit of trouble if you over-react." Aoshi said without preamble.

"What do you mean?" Kenshin grated out.

"That's not real affection up there, that's acting." Aoshi glanced over at where Kaoru and the Admiral were standing, rather close together, speaking in hushed voices.

"What is going on here? Why is she doing this?" Kenshin's eyes followed Aoshi's gaze.

"What did she tell you?" Aoshi asked.

"Nothing." Kenshin replied sullenly.

"Then I will follow her example. Clearly, she doesn't want you to know and I must respect that."

Kenshin sighed. "Fine. But she will have some explaining to do later on." He said irritably.

Aoshi regarded the shorter man with curiosity. "And what exactly does she have to explain? It's not as though there's an agreement between you two, is there?"

Kenshin flushed. "Not exactly…but…"

"Listen to me, Captain, it's highly unlikely that Kaoru would ever abandon her ship or her crew, even for love. She's in a difficult position, and I know that regardless of her feelings on the matter, she will always do the right thing." Aoshi frowned down at the floor. "It is unfortunate, but that's the way things stand."

Kenshin walked away from him without saying another word, too angry to speak. He hated that Aoshi was probably right, he hated that he was in love with someone so unattainable, he hated that Kaoru was all he could think about.

"Kenshin, dear? Where are you going?" Tae ambushed him as he wandered into various rooms, seeking his coat so that he could leave.

"I'm suddenly very tired, Tae, and I want to go home." He replied shortly, finally locating a footman who knew where the coats were kept.

"Did Yuki tire you out? She's in rare form tonight, I must say." Tae smiled in a slightly amused manner and gave Kenshin's arm an affectionate squeeze.

He offered her no reply, only a tight smile as he took his coat from the reappeared footman and shrugged it on.

"Well, can you join me for lunch tomorrow?" She asked, absently smoothing the slightly rumpled shoulders of his coat.

"Actually, I have plans." He replied without thinking. Tae's face lit up and he cursed himself.

"Oh? Who with? One of these lovely girls, perhaps?" Tae turned and eyed the crowd, trying to discover which girl had captured his attentions.

"Hiroshi Fujiwara. He was curious about certain aspects of the Navy and I offered to enlighten him over lunch." He hoped she bought his hastily thought up lie.

She sighed. "Oh, Kenshin. A roomful of eager girls and you end up having a luncheon with a man?" She shook her head."I had hoped all those rumors about sailors were false, but I guess there is truth in it after all."

"What are you talking about?" Kenshin frowned, confused by her outburst.

"Well, obviously, you don't want to marry because you prefer men to women." Tae looked rather shaken at the thought. "I had hoped it wasn't true…"

Kenshin blinked, her words slowly sinking in. "Wait…Tae…"

"It's all right, we're still friends, but oh, I did so wish to see you married!" She shook her head sadly.

"Tae…believe me when I say that I most definitely prefer women!" Kenshin nearly yelled.

She stared at him for a long moment. "Oh, thank the gods!" Tae pressed a relieved hand to her bosom. "So you will marry!" She sprang on him and hugged him tightly.

Kenshin disentangled himself and sighed. "Tae, you are a dear friend, but your priorities are a little strange."

A/N: Happy New Year! Whee! Ahem. Anyway, so this is a little late. I promised to have another chapter done before the New Year. I'm 4 days late. Sorry. I've been busy. Sooo...that Orlando Bloom has proven quite wily and hard to catch. I'll give you readers some more time to grab him and until then, I'll content myself with the cookies. More on the way...maybe one of these days I'll get to the point, plot point that is.

Oh, and thanks for all the reviews! I'm happier than a pig in slop!


	5. Promises

**Letter of Marque  
_Sequel to Between the Devil and the Deep_  
A Rurouni Kenshin AU Fic  
by Gemini  
  
**Rated R**: For cursing and other naughty things  
  
**Disclaimer:** This Rurouni Kenshin franchise is owned and operated by Earl "Nobuhiro" Watsuki,  
Tim "Shonen" Jump and "Sony" Jones. There are also a few silent partners I can't recall.  
  
  
**The events in this story take place one year after the end of 'Between the Devil and the Deep'  
****

**  
Chapter 5: Promises  
**

  
The warehouse district ran for miles in either direction; blocky non-descript buildings stretching as far as the eye could see. The buildings abutted the harbor and served the large shipping industry that kept the country's coffers and the pockets of unscrupulous businessmen and politicians filled with money. Some of the structures were well-maintained and belonged to legitimate companies, while others seemed more than a little sinister.   
  
Tsunan Tsukioika, better known as Katsu to his friends, the few of them that there were, was currently housed in one of the more dilapidated buildings in the district, one that belonged to Admiral Kamo Serizawa. He had no idea how long he had been there, days and nights seemed to blend together into one long moment of pain and agony. Sometimes, he even forgot who he was, which frightened him. But those moments were brief, followed almost immediately by clarity, telling him who he was, why he was being tortured and, most importantly, why he would not talk.   
  
The names and faces of his tormentors changed often. The only one he ever recognized was the Admiral. It was the Admiral who was the most brutal, demanding answers to his questions and punishing Katsu horribly when he refused to answer. Katsu knew the Admiral would have no choice but to kill him eventually, he knew too much. But the young man also understood that the Admiral was worried, perhaps even terrified that there were more people out there with knowledge of his dealings. If there were, if Katsu was part of a larger conspiracy, then there was a very good chance that his entire empire, one painstakingly built over years of graft, theft and lies could crumble. And he would not allow that.   
  
So Katsu was kept alive, though barely, and repeatedly tortured for information, which he would not give. Somewhere out there, he was certain, Kaoru was looking for him. He had missed an important meeting with her, an annual gathering he had never missed since its inception. She would be worried and she would try to find him.   
  
He wasn't certain if she would be able to locate him before the Admiral tired of his tight-lipped silence, but he was sure that, in her search, she would discover just why he was missing and do something about it. Admiral Kamo Serizawa's days of living above the law were numbered, he just hoped that he would live long enough to see justice done.   
  


* * *

  
  
"You really should have said no, Kaoru." Aoshi glared at his captain, who sat across from him in the clattering carriage which was rocketing across the pockmarked and hard packed dirt road towards Maiko's home.   
  
"And risk exposure?" She shot back angrily.   
  
"Captain Himura would never willingly put your life in danger, you know that." Her navigator replied, exasperated.   
  
"No, but he would have started poking around, which could be even more dangerous. He promised to stay out of it if I agreed to have lunch with him. A simple request in exchange for his silence."   
  
"He's a danger to this mission, Kaoru. You should have seen his expression when you were with Admiral Serizawa. He almost lost it right then. If I hadn't intervened, he might have done something stupid. You need to end this little infatuation right now before it gets out of hand. There is no room in your life for him." Aoshi said flatly.   
  
Kaoru leaned forward, her expression dark. "You have no right to say such things, Aoshi." Her voice was low, dangerous.   
  
Maiko, who was seated beside her, looked at the young woman with alarm. She had never heard Kaoru sound so angry and unlike herself.   
  
"Kaoru, darling, just what is going on between you and the Captain?" she asked quietly.   
  
"Nothing at the moment." Kaoru replied, her voice resuming a more normal tone as she leaned back into the plush cushions of the carriage.   
  
"It should stay that way." Aoshi muttered.   
  
"Aoshi, I tolerate your occasional lapses of decorum out of respect for our many years of friendship. But do not forget your place. I would hate to be forced to remind you where you stand." Kaoru said quietly, her sapphire blue eyes glimmering in the dark carriage.   
  
Aoshi frowned but remained silent. No one spoke during the remainder of the carriage ride.   
  
The moment the footman opened the door Kaoru was gone, sweeping up Maiko's driveway and into the house. Aoshi and Maiko followed suit, but with less speed. As they reached the door, Maiko reached out and stopped Aoshi with a hand on his arm.   
  
"Aoshi, what is going on?" She asked quietly, her face drawn with concern.   
  
He rubbed a weary hand over his face and sighed. "It's complicated." He replied.   
  
She frowned. "I think you and I should talk, sir. I promised Kaoru's mother that I would look after her and I've been remiss in my duties up until now." She gestured in the direction of the sitting room, her expression leaving him no room for protest.   


* * *

  
The exterior of Captain Kenshin Himura's home was calm, bucolic; it gave no indication of the chaos that reigned within. Servants bustled about, under the watchful eye of Saya, Kenshin's slightly hysterical head of household. Saya was not normally hysterical. In fact, she was a solid, practical woman with an almost impregnable air of calm about her. Except for the times when her master woke her up in the middle of the night to inform her that an important guest would be joining him for lunch and that everything had to be perfect for her arrival. Then Saya's veneer of calm shattered and she became like a woman possessed.   
  
It wasn't that the Captain's home was messy. Far from it, in fact. Saya kept a clean house. But great portions of it were dusty and unused. Rooms needed to be aired out, rugs beaten, trinkets, such as Kenshin had, needed to be dusted, silver had to be polished, windows cleaned and lord only knew what else. With a staff of only six people, Saya was hard pressed to make her noon-time deadline; so hard pressed that she drafted Yahiko into service preparing the luncheon.   
  
Her master was not around to be forced into work. He had disappeared the moment the sun had risen on some sort of mysterious errand. He returned an hour before lunch and locked himself in his office, ignoring the hustle and bustle in his home.   
  
The chaos ended shortly before noon. By the time Kaoru's borrowed carriage rattled up to the front porch, Kenshin's home was quiet and peaceful. His guest would never know the pandemonium that had preceded her visit.   
  
The footman opened the carriage door and helped Kaoru out. Before she could even take in the scenery around her, the front door flew open and Yahiko came barreling out.   
  
"Ka…er, I mean, Keiko!" He hastily corrected himself as he wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug.   
  
"Oof!" Kaoru hugged him back, laughing breathlessly.   
  
"Let me take a look at you, kid." Kaoru gently pushed him away so she could see him. "You've gotten taller." She said with a smile, ruffling his hair affectionately.   
  
He puffed up with pride. "I'll be taller than Kenshin in no time!" He said with a grin.   
  
Kaoru opened her mouth to reply, but a movement by the door caught her attention. Kenshin was leaning against the doorjamb, his arms crossed and an undecipherable expression on his face that for some reason made her feel rather uncomfortable.   
  
"Welcome." He said, his expression clearing to something more neutral. He smiled and stood up straight. "Please, come in."   
  
Yahiko looked from Kaoru to Kenshin, a knowing grin lighting up his face. "I'll just go and see if Saya needs any more help." He said, running off before anyone could say anything.   
  
Kaoru turned and dismissed her driver. As the carriage pulled away, she turned and offered Kenshin her hand. "Lead the way, Captain." She said primly, desperately trying to ignore the small jolt she felt when he took her hand and raised it to his lips for a chaste kiss.   
  
"I want to show you something." He said. Instead of leading her inside, as she expected, he took her down the steps and around the house to the back of the property. She gasped as the cliffs came into view.   
  
"This is where I go to think." He murmured, watching her closely to gauge her reaction.   
  
"It's amazing." She breathed, stepping closer to the edge and watching with appreciation as the waves broke against the cliff below them.   
  
"This view is the only reason I bought the house." Kenshin said quietly.   
  
"I can see why." She turned and gave him a dazzling smile, which he returned. They stood together, comfortable in their silence, for a long while. Kenshin reached for Kaoru's hand and was pleased when she didn't pull away from him.   
  
"Captain, lunch is ready." Saya's voice boomed out across the lawn.   
  
Reluctantly dropping Kaoru's hand, Kenshin turned and acknowledged his housekeeper with a nod. "We'd better go in. Yahiko and Saya have been working all morning on this lunch. They will be upset if we don't show them our appreciation."   
  
An hour later, Kaoru set her fork down and immediately began showering Yahiko with praise. "Your cooking has only gotten better, kiddo."   
  
Yahiko blushed and looked down at the tablecloth, embarrassed. "Saya's taught me a few things." He replied modestly.   
  
"They both tried to teach me, but I'm afraid I'm hopeless." Kenshin said with a rueful smile. "I nearly burned down the kitchen the last time."   
  
"It's not that bad." Yahiko protested, desperately trying to seem sincere. "That soup you made once was okay."   
  
Kenshin sighed. "It wasn't supposed to be a soup." He said sadly. He made a face at Kaoru who was unsuccessfully hiding her giggles behind her napkin.   
  
Saya and two servants reappeared and began clearing the remains of lunch.   
  
"Yahiko, don't forget that your lessons are today." Saya reminded the boy as she took his plate. "Madame Sekihara would be most annoyed if you failed to remember again."   
  
"Madame Sekihara? The same one from last night?" Kaoru asked curiously.   
  
Kenshin nodded. "Tae graciously allows Yahiko to share lessons with her daughter and her daughter's tutor."   
  
Saya grinned wickedly as she swooped down to take the last of the serving dishes away. "And it allows Yahiko time to be near the lovely Miss Tsubame." She teased, her smile widening at Yahiko's blush and mortified expression.   
  
Kaoru raised an eyebrow. "Miss Tsubame, hmmm?"   
  
Yahiko turned redder. "It's not…she's…I mean…well…" He stuttered, much to the amusement of the adults.   
  
"Ah, young love." Kaoru fluttered her eyelashes and pressed a hand to her heart dramatically.   
  
Kenshin snorted in a decidedly un-gentleman like manner.   
  
Yahiko stood up quickly, his hands balled into fists. "Like either of you should talk!" He yelped before running out of the dining room.   
  
Kenshin's laughter died immediately and Kaoru took an unusual interest in the table cloth.   
  
Saya took the awkward silence as her cue to leave and she hustled the other two servants out with her. "Ring if you need us!" She called over her shoulder before vanishing into the kitchen.  
  
"Well, that was awkward." Kaoru said after a long moment of silence. 

Kenshin grinned ruefully. "Just a little."

Kaoru pushed back her chair and stood, stretching like a cat, arms raised over her head, before turning her attention to Kenshin who was staring at her with something very close to lust. 

"What?" She asked, slightly disconcerted by his expression. 

"You almost popped out of your dress." He replied solemnly. 

She turned bright red and looked down at her corset. "Dammit. I _told_ Misao this thing was all wrong!" 

"I like it." He had a slightly wicked grin on his face now. 

"Pervert." 

He was pleased to note that she didn't look too upset. 

"Is that the only reason you asked me to come here today? To leer at me?" She had her hands on her hips and was effecting a rather disgruntled expression that he found charming. 

He smiled at her and leaned back in his chair, studying her for a long moment before replying. "Among other things." 

She scowled. "I suppose you also want to ask me about Admiral Serizawa." 

The smile dropped off his face abruptly. "Among other things." He sounded decidedly less amused. 

The sudden change in his manner made her nervous. Clenching her fists to hide the shaking in her hands, she raised her chin and looked down on him haughtily. "Well then, ask." 

"What were you doing with him last night?" Kenshin asked quietly. He tilted his head forward, his bangs hiding the expression in his eyes. 

"I can't tell you." She replied. 

He propped his elbows on the table and used his hands as a cradle for his chin. "I see." He paused for a minute, marshalling his thoughts. "Might I hazard a guess or two?" 

"You might." She wished her voice was a little less tremulous. 

"Would all your flirting have anything to do with the Admiral's various and sundry illegal activities?" He asked, watching her closely. 

She looked worried for a moment, but her expression cleared and she frowned at him. "I have nothing more to say on this matter." 

He stood up and was standing in front of her so fast she scarce had time to register his movement. 

"Once again you have put yourself into a situation that is entirely too dangerous." He hissed, his eyes flashing with anger. "I won't allow it." 

"Allow? You won't ALLOW it?" She stepped back a few paces and regarded him with incredulity. "Who are you to tell me what to do?" 

"Kaoru, I…" He began, but she held up a hand to stop him. 

"Aoshi was right. This will never work." She shook her head emphatically. "This is…this is an infatuation, nothing more." 

"I think it is something more." Kenshin took a step forward, reaching out to take her hand, relieved when she didn't pull away. "I've spent the past year consumed with thoughts of you. All the women Tae has tried to marry me off to have paled in comparison to you, Kaoru. I refuse to believe this is just some silly infatuation." 

She reluctantly pulled her hand away. "What else could it be? It's certainly not sensible. There is no way this could ever work." 

"Kaoru, I can't just let this go." Kenshin sounded pained. "Nor can I let you knowingly put yourself in danger." 

"There you go again. Telling me what you'll let me do." Her voice took on a harsh edge. "Just who do you think I am? Some useless husband-hunting ninny like your so-called fiancée?" She scowled. "I am a pirate, captain of my own ship. I command a hundred other brigands and I hold their respect. I've killed many men and wounded more. I don't sew or embroider or sing. I read ship logs, not poetry and the day I play some pretty little waltz on the piano is the day Sano wears a dress." She paused to take a deep breath. "I have absolutely nothing to offer you, not even my maidenhood, so I don't understand how you could possibly be in love with me." 

Kenshin looked as though he had been struck. He took a step back from her, a frown tugging on his lips. 

'There.' Kaoru thought to herself. 'I knew throwing in that bit about my virginity would get him.' She ignored the pang of sadness and shame she felt at his sure rejection and concentrated on the fact that what she was doing was _right_, even if it wounded them both in the process. 

"Kaoru, I'm a bit hurt that you think so little of me." He replied slowly, as though reading her thoughts. 

She stared at him in wide-eyed shock. 'That didn't work?' Her mind shrieked. 

"I know exactly who you are and what you've done. And while some of it _is_ a little hard to accept, the fact is that I do. Accept it, that is." Kenshin pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her hair, breathing in its clean scent. 

"You idiot. I was trying to let you off easy." She muttered into his shoulder before reluctantly returning the embrace. 

"Nothing about this relationship should be easy, Kaoru." He murmured, holding her tightly. 

"This is wrong." Her voice lacked conviction. 

"It is." He affirmed. "Very wrong." He pulled back and cupped her face between his hands, absently brushing a thumb over her lips. 

Her eyes darkened slightly. "Kenshin, stop that." She commanded. 

"No." He lowered his face to hers and kissed her gently, mere brushes of his mouth on hers. 

Kaoru sighed. "Oh, I give up." She said when he moved his mouth to her jaw. 

"Good." He replied, trailing kisses down her throat to the tempting swell of her cleavage. 

She inhaled sharply when she felt his tongue move lazily over her exposed collarbone. 'Ooh, that's nice…that's very nice.' 

_'You need to end this little infatuation right now before it gets out of hand. There is no room in your life for him.' Aoshi's words from the night before suddenly popped into her head, quite unwelcome. She frowned. 'Get out of my head, Aoshi!' She yelled mentally. _

She almost succeeded in banishing all thoughts of her navigator and her responsibility and pretty much anything else from her mind when she felt Kenshin's hands rise to cup her breasts through the stiff fabric of her borrowed dress. She moaned low in her throat and threaded her hands through his fiery hair to hold him at his current position. 

_'He's a danger to this mission, Kaoru.' Aoshi intoned. _

'God damn it!' Kaoru's nice hazy lust began to recede and her better sense started to take over again. 'Why can't I ever have a nice moment to myself?' Her frown came back. 'Because I am captain. I have to put my crew before myself. I promised.' 

"Shit." Reluctantly, she pushed Kenshin away. 

He stared at her, surprise mingling with desire in his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"You have to ask?" She straightened out her dress and patted her hair to see if it was in relatively good shape. "I can't be doing this. I have to find Katsu." 

"Katsu?" Kenshin pushed his hair back, recently loosened from its neat ponytail by Kaoru's wandering hands, and secured it back into some semblance of its former self. He gave himself a mental shake to focus on the unexpected and unwelcome turn their tête-à-tête had taken. 

Kaoru sighed. "Tsunan Tsukioika. He's my brother…sort of." 

"Sort of?" Kenshin looked quite confused. 

"My father adopted Katsu and Sano, unofficially, of course, but he considered them to be his sons. We all grew up together on the Kami Kaze." Kaoru explained. 

"And now he's missing and it has something to do with Admiral Serizawa?" 

Karou nodded and plopped wearily down onto the nearest chair. "I suppose you're not just going to let me leave it at that, are you?" 

Kenshin sat down next to her. "Of course not. Save me the aggravation of having to pry it out of you and just tell me." 

She rolled her eyes. "I suppose if I refused then you'd just go poking around some more and make trouble for me, right?" 

"Naturally." 

"Damn Aoshi. He's always right." Kaoru muttered. "He'll never let me forget it, either." 

Kenshin tapped her hand with his finger. "Explain." 

She frowned slightly. "Well, it's difficult to…" She trailed off for a moment before gathering her thoughts and beginning again. "Let me start with Katsu. He left the ship about a year or two before my father died. He didn't like the pirate's life, so he apprenticed himself to a printmaker. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on who you ask, Katsu was heavily influenced by my father and his deep distrust of the government and the navy, so he became involved with radical political groups on the mainland. Eventually, he set up an anti-government newsletter that he printed and distributed." 

Kenshin interrupted her. "Which one?" 

"The People's Voice." Kaoru replied, feeling a bit of pride. "It's not like the other anti-government papers, always screaming about conspiracies but never backing up anything they say with facts. Katsu's always been very careful about verifying information and he never prints anything he can't prove." She paused. 

"I know the 'People's Voice'. It's ruffled quite a few feathers." Kenshin murmured. "Some people consider its publisher to be a very dangerous man." 

Kaoru grinned. "That's my Katsu." 

"He probably has many enemies." Kenshin said seriously. 

Kaoru's grin vanished. "Of course. But he's always been very careful, up until now. He's always kept a low profile, living under assumed names, moving around a lot, he's a hard man to keep track of, even for his friends and family." 

"Then how do you know he's in trouble?" 

"Every year on the anniversary of my father's death, we all get together, no matter where we are or what we're doing. Katsu and a few others who knew my father meet us at my father's favorite tavern. Myself, my crew and these friends of ours, we all have a drink in his memory. Most of us have more than one." She smiled wryly. "It's become a tradition. People have been delayed or have had to miss it in the past, but there's always been a letter or message, so we know. And Katsu's never missed one. Not until…" 

"Not until this year." Kenshin finished for her. She nodded solemnly. 

"No note, no message, nothing. Sano and I, we went to the last place he had been living and found the place burned to the ground. Nothing was left. So, we started poking around. Katsu was," She frowned and corrected herself, "_is_ a paranoid guy, so he never keeps all his papers in one place. Sano found where he had stashed some of his stuff and we discovered that he had been working on something that would not look good for Admiral Serizawa. One of the anti-government people he had been working with remembered seeing Katsu with a guy who matched the Admiral's description. So, he is the only link we have to Katsu's whereabouts." 

"Hence, the reason why you're trying to get into his good graces." Kenshin said with a frown. Things were occurring to him that he did not like.   


"Of course. Like I would let such a disgusting man anywhere near me otherwise." She sniffed. 

"And just how far are you willing to go to get on his good side?" Kenshin asked, his expression dangerous. 

Kaoru turned slightly red. "Not that far, I hope. I think I'd scream if he touched me." She glared at Kenshin. "Not that it's any of your concern." 

He pounded his fist on the table in a sudden display of temper that frightened her. "God damn it, Kaoru, of course it's my concern. I don't want anyone else touching you! You're mine!" He spat. 

Her eyes flashed. "I don't belong to anyone but myself, Kenshin." She replied, a warning in her tone. 

His anger deflated immediately and he looked, for a moment, so sad and weary, that she wanted to take back what she had just said, even if it had been the truth.

"Although I appreciate the sentiment behind your offensive words." She offered. 

He sighed and smiled sadly. "But do you return them? It occurs to me that I'm the only one who's ever said…" 

She laughed, quietly, silencing him. "Isn't it obvious?" She asked with a small smile. "If any other man had even attempted some of the things you've done to me…he'd be shark bait." 

Kenshin allowed himself a rueful smile. "I'd still like to hear you say it, just once." 

She turned to face him fully and took his face in her hands, like he had done to her earlier. "I do love you." She whispered, dropping a chaste kiss on his lips. "Against my better judgment, I might add." 

He sighed into her kiss and pulled her closer for a deeper one. 

"Let me help you with this, Kaoru. I can't stop you, but let me help." He murmured. 

She pulled away slightly and regarded him for a long, thoughtful moment. "You'd betray your duty, your station for me?" 

"I would. For you, I would do anything." He said, smoothing her hair. 

Kaoru felt so many different emotions at his words that she couldn't even begin to untangle them all. She drew a deep, if somewhat shaky breath. "All right. I accept your help." 

"Thank you." He said, kissing her again. 

She pulled away and smiled slightly. "I should probably go. Lord only knows what kind of gossip will come from this unescorted meeting." She needed to get away from him, needed time to think. 

Kenshin grinned, his good humor restored by her acquiescence. "Well, you know Kaoru, if your honor is in anyway compromised by today, then I would not hesitate to do the honorable thing."

"And what's that?" She asked archly, regaining much of her earlier confidence. 

"Marry you, of course." He replied evenly. 

Her confidence fled, leaving her weak-kneed at his words. "Marry me?" She whispered. 

"Of course, I might be tempted to do that anyway." He smiled, violet eyes full of mischief. 

She blinked at him, dumbfounded. Finally, she shook herself out of her stupor and glared at him. "Quit that." 

He merely continued to smile his Cheshire cat smile. 

She sighed and gave him another dark look. "Never mind all that. Listen, meet me tomorrow night, around 10, at the Cat O'Nine Tails Pub."

He stopped smiling. "What's going to happen tomorrow night?" 

"You said you wanted to help, right? Well, tomorrow you're going to help. I'd suggest dressing down and disguising your appearance somewhat. The Admiral has spies everywhere." She replied. 

"Tomorrow night, then." He said, rising from his chair and offering her his arm to escort her from the room. 

She took his arm, and gave it a squeeze. "Oh, and one more thing, Captain, if you mention this marriage nonsense to anyone else, I will tie you to my ship's anchor and drag you around the harbor, got it?" She said sweetly. 

He gulped. "Yes ma'am."  


* * *

A/N: Ah, the chapter that took me 30 years to write! Ahahahaaa! *Ahem* Anyway, some of you insisted on more WAFF and I do like to keep my readers happy.   
  
So, there you go. WAFF-tacular. How was the flow? Did it jump around too much? I'm having to do without my BETA reader, Moonspark as she has found herself a real-life bishounen and is currently shacked up with him with no sign of ever coming up for air. Go Moonspark! (Lucky!) I'd send her the chapters, but it would take forever to get them back, so I'm relying on you guys to point out anything you find amiss.   
  
Hmm. There seems to be a plot. despite all my attempts to subvert it. Oh well.   
  
I've given up on Orlando Bloom. I will now accept cookies, pie and naughty bishounen pictures. That is all.   
  
  



	6. Truth

Letter of Marque  
Sequel to Between the Devil and the Deep  
A Rurouni Kenshin AU Fic  
by Gemini  
  
Rated R: For cursing and other naughty and occasionally unpleasant things  
  
Disclaimer: This Rurouni Kenshin franchise is owned and operated by Earl "Nobuhiro" Watsuki,  
Tim "Shonen" Jump and "Sony" Jones. There are also a few silent partners I can't recall.  
  
  
The events in this story take place one year after the end of 'Between the Devil and the Deep'  
  
Chapter 6: Truth  
  
At nine-thirty, Kaoru, Aoshi and Misao strode into the Cat O'Nine Tails, ignoring the buzz their appearance generated. Sano was waiting for them at their usual table in the shadowy recesses of the bar. His eyebrows rose slightly as he took in his captain's appearance. She was back to wearing her usual pirate togs, so it wasn't her clothes that were surprising to him, it was her face. She looked tired with dark circles under her eyes and a frown etched on her normally cheerful face. Aoshi and Misao didn't look much better.   
  
Sano immediately got up and grabbed a round of beers for his friends, figuring they all needed it.   
  
"You look like hell." Sano told his captain as he thumped a warm mug of watery beer in front of her.   
  
"Shut up." She replied, taking a deep swig of the foul liquid.   
  
"She should look like hell." Aoshi muttered from his seat across from her. He grunted in pain when Misao dug an elbow into his ribs.   
  
Sano looked around the table, taking in each of their grim expressions. "What the fuck is going on here? You all look like you've just eaten shit."   
  
Kaoru didn't reply, she was too interested in her beer.   
  
Aoshi scowled. "She's letting him help us." He said irritably.   
  
"Him who?" Sano was rather bewildered.   
  
"Captain Himura. She went to tell him not to get involved and somehow we ended up with the exact opposite." Aoshi replied.   
  
"What the fuck is your problem, Shinomori?" Kaoru growled, fixing Aoshi with a lethal blue gaze.   
  
"My problem is, Captain, that he's Navy brass. We don't know that we can trust him. Not only that, but you seem to have gotten yourself involved in some sort of relationship with him that everyone has been telling you from the start is a very, very bad idea. Don't forget who he owes his allegiance to." Aoshi retorted angrily, ignoring the restraining hand Misao put on his arm. "He could be playing you for a fool."  
  
Kaoru slammed her fist down on the table, rattling the mugs of beer. The noise in the bar died down as people turned to peer at the group. Recognizing them, the patrons immediately returned to their business, knowing that the less they heard, the better.   
  
"God damn you, Aoshi." She hissed, her face white with fury. "Don't you think I know that? Don't you think that's been going through my mind since the beginning?" She took a deep breath. "I've agonized over that, but I don't know what else I can do!" She reached for her beer and downed the rest of it in one gulp. "It's inconceivable that any of this should have happened and I've tried NOT to let it go this far…" She trailed off, her furious expression fading, replaced by one of deep unhappiness.   
  
"Just ignore him, Kaoru." Misao said soothingly, shooting Aoshi a dirty look. "He'll have plenty of time to think of a proper apology tonight, while he's trying to fall asleep on the couch."   
  
Sano tried unsuccessfully to choke back a snort of laughter and even Kaoru found herself almost smiling. Aoshi, meanwhile, looked stricken.   
  
This was the scene Kenshin came upon when he appeared exactly at ten o'clock. He had 'dressed down' in accordance with Kaoru's request and was currently wearing baggy black pants and a simple white linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He tried to hide his rather distinctive red hair by covering it with a bandana. He had completed the ensemble with an old pair of battered black boots and his gun, which he stuck into his waistband since he lacked a holster.  
  
Yahiko, upon seeing Kenshin as he prepared to leave the house earlier that evening had grinned and told his guardian that he "looked like a pirate", much to Kenshin's chagrin.   
  
He stepped into the Cat O'Nine Tails and wondered at the patrons. He had never seen such an assemblage of shady looking characters in his life. Any of the men and even some of the women in the place looked capable of slitting his throat. He swallowed nervously, a hand rising to reassure himself of the gun placed securely at his waist while he scanned the room for Kaoru. He found her a moment later, sitting at the back of the room.   
  
She was scowling at Aoshi and the two of them appeared to be having some sort of disagreement. Kenshin was surprised to see Misao seated next to Aoshi, looking almost as annoyed as Kaoru, while Sano, who completed the small group, appeared to be highly amused by something.   
  
Kenshin approached them, warily stepping around drunks and prostitutes, hoping to escape the patrons' notice. He wasn't so lucky.   
  
"Will you look at that pretty boy, Naru?" A slurred voice from behind him boomed.   
  
Kenshin flinched. 'Shit.' He muttered under his breath.   
  
"Look at 'im, walkin' around 'ere like 'e's too good for us!" Another drunken voice chimed in, Naru, apparently.   
  
The bar stilled as the patrons all turned to watch what they hoped would be an interesting fight.   
  
Kenshin turned and glared at the drunken pair and opened his mouth to say something when someone else said it for him.   
  
"Oi, Naru, Ran, are you two makin' trouble for my friend?" Kaoru's voice rang out.   
  
Kenshin turned back and was surprised to see Kaoru, still seated at her table, a long, wicked looking hunting knife twirling between her fingers. She was slouched casually in her seat, one foot propped up on a nearby chair. Although she looked rather relaxed, there was a palpable menace to her that Kenshin had never seen before.   
  
"I'd hate for you to be making trouble." Kaoru said, sapphire eyes gleaming in the uncertain candle light.   
  
"No, ma'am. We weren't makin' any trouble." Ran replied, scared out of his drunken stupor. "Were we, Naru?"   
  
Naru shook his head violent. "No, no. No trouble from us."   
  
"Glad to hear it." Kaoru replied with a sweet smile that seemed oddly out of place.   
She gave the knife a final twirl and plunged it into the rickety wooden table in front of her.   
  
The bar patrons, deprived of a fight and not wishing to get on Kaoru's bad side, immediately went back to their business, louder than before.  
  
Kenshin made his way over to their table, wisely left alone by the hoi polloi.   
  
Kaoru took her dirty boot off the only empty chair, swept the dirt off of it and offered Kenshin a seat. "Sorry about that." She said, glancing in the direction of Naru and Ran, who, sensing her gaze, immediately scooted into the darker recesses of the bar with slightly panicked squeaks.   
  
Kenshin shook his head. "No problem. That was a rather impressive performance, though." He replied with a small smile.   
  
"Who said it was a performance?" Kaoru lifted her eyebrow and smirked.   
  
"Right." Kenshin swallowed, trying to match this dangerous woman to the one he had held in his arms the day before. It was a daunting task as she seemed completely changed.   
  
"You remember Sano and Misao, right?" Kaoru waved her hand in their direction.   
  
"Of course, how could I forget?" He nodded in Sano's direction and was rewarded with a curt nod in return. He turned his attention to Misao and smiled broadly. "Miss Makimachi, I must say, you look awfully good for a dead woman."   
  
She giggled. "What can I say? Death agrees with me." She leaned forward conspiratorially. "Did you hear about my funeral? It was huge!"   
  
"Yes, I understood from a friend of mine that it was quite a social event." Kenshin replied politely.   
  
Misao nodded emphatically. "Every important person in society was there." Her smile faded and she slumped back into her seat, a pout forming. "It figures that my social status rose after I died."   
  
Kaoru rolled her eyes and took a final swig of her beer. This particular topic was a familiar one; Misao mourned her social status often, especially after a beer or two.   
She thumped her mug down and gestured to the bartender to pull her another and bring one for their new guest. "And of course you can't forget Aoshi." She said, finishing her introductions, all the while glaring at her navigator who seemed rather unmoved by her anger.   
  
Kenshin nodded curtly, his gaze frosty. The tension at the table ratcheted up a notch.   
  
Even the bartender noticed as he set down the two mugs of beer. He was happy to grab Kaoru's money and retreat back to the relative safety of the bar.   
  
Kenshin lifted the glass to his lips and took a tentative sip of the pale liquid, trying to seem casual about it. But his face betrayed his horror at the taste and he nearly spit it out.   
  
Kaoru grinned at his expression. "You gotta drink it down fast so you don't notice the taste." She advised, demonstrating with her own mug of beer.   
  
Kenshin's reaction broke the tension somewhat. The amusement they obviously all felt relaxed them. Kaoru cleared her throat and broached the subject of their meeting.   
  
"So, now that we're here, let's see what we've got." She said, turning her attention to Sano. "What did you find?"   
  
Sano frowned. "Not much. Katsu's a paranoid bastard." He grumbled. "The only thing that kept popping up was the fact that the Navy was involved somehow."   
  
Everyone glanced at Kenshin, who was frowning. "Involved in his disappearance?" He asked.   
  
Sano shrugged. "Or involved in whatever scandal he was hoping to uncover."   
  
Kenshin drummed his fingers on the table thoughtfully. "And you believe Admiral Serizawa is part of all this?" he asked Kaoru.   
  
She nodded. "We do."   
  
"All right." Kenshin pushed his mug of beer away. "What I am going to tell you does not leave this table, understand?" He glanced around the table, waiting until they nodded their assent before continuing.   
  
"Admiral Serizawa is currently under investigation by the Office of the Admiralty for his involvement in some sort of bribery scandal, but he doesn't know it. From what I could gather, he is accused of accepting bribes from…" Kenshin paused, a small, amused smile on his lips. "From pirates, actually, to allow them safe passage to certain harbors."   
  
"Pirates, hmm?" Kaoru looked at Sano thoughtfully. "Who do we know that's been doing rather well?"  
  
Sano frowned. "Well, the only one I can think of is Niimi…he's been making a killing lately. Remember? He just bought those big ass cannons for his ship. His asshole first mate Kanryuu was bragging about it."   
  
"Kanryuu, yuck." Kaoru shuddered.   
  
"Oh yeah, he's always hittin' on you, isn't he?" Sano said, amused.   
  
"Don't remind me." Kaoru made a face. She took a swig of beer. "He's such a slimy fucker. They both are."   
  
"How well is well?" Kenshin asked, trying to ignore the brief stab of anger he felt towards this man he had never met.   
  
"Cannons that size are expensive." Kaoru said. "Each one costs a couple thousand, easy. And he bought enough to outfit his entire ship. Ten above, ten below."   
  
"Then I'd say he's doing very well." Kenshin replied. "What does he do?"  
  
"Smuggle, mainly." Kaoru emptied her mug. "He used to do quite a bit of the human kind before my father put a stop to it." She glanced at Aoshi.   
  
It was then that Kenshin noticed how tense the navigator had become. His face was white, his jaw clenched. Misao was talking low into his ear, rubbing a reassuring hand on his arm.   
  
Kaoru cleared her throat and brought Kenshin's attention back to her. He raised a questioning eyebrow at her but she just shook her head.   
  
"Now he sticks to smuggling booze, silks, drugs, that sort of thing." Kaoru said lightly.   
  
"From what I recall, smuggling isn't usually that profitable." Kenshin said carefully.   
  
Kaoru grinned. "Nah, there's not much money it, not since the Navy started cracking down. The real payday is in…" She trailed off, embarrassed. "Never mind."   
  
Kenshin couldn't hide his slightly amused smile. "I heard nothing." He said.   
  
Sano chuckled. "Gotta watch your mouth, Kaoru. This guy here's the law."   
  
Kaoru cleared her throat. "Is there anything else you can tell us about the Admiral, Kenshin?" She said, changing the subject abruptly.   
  
"Nothing as official as the investigation. The rest is just rumors." He replied.   
"Well, even rumors could be helpful." Sano grunted.   
  
"From what I understand, the Admiral has a lot of enemies. His illegal actions haven't gone entirely unnoticed by the Admiralty. But, since he's known to have a lot of sensitive information on people, they won't do anything to him. They overlook most of his crimes. Except for Admiral Hijikata."  
  
"Hijikata?" Kaoru interrupted, a slight frown on her face. "Where do I know that name?"   
  
"Well, his family is pretty well-connected and he's a war hero…" Kenshin answered.   
  
"No…that's not it." She hit her forehead with the heel of her hand. "Where? Where did I…oh!" She grinned. "Now I remember! He was at that party. I saw him talking to Admiral Serizawa!"   
  
Kenshin snorted. "Serizawa was probably trying to bribe him. And I can tell you right now that it didn't work. There is no one in the Navy as honest as Hijikata."   
  
"What about you?" Kaoru teased.   
  
"Me? I consort with pirates." Kenshin replied cheerfully.   
  
"Is that all the information you have?" Aoshi interrupted their banter.   
  
Kenshin turned his attention to the navigator, who still looked slightly pale.   
  
"For now." He replied.   
  
Aoshi snorted. "We pretty much knew all that."   
  
"Aoshi." Kaoru's tone contained a warning.   
  
"I'm curious, Mr. Shinomori, why you seem to be so angry towards me, and why you seem so determined to sabotage Kaoru's and my relationship." Kenshin asked quietly.   
  
"Drop it." Kaoru squeezed Kenshin's arm, a move that didn't go unnoticed by anyone at the table.   
  
"No, I won't." Kenshin murmured, his flinty gaze on Aoshi.   
  
"Because, Captain," Aoshi replied just as quietly, "you will hurt her in the end. And she's already been badly used once before, and I'm not entirely sure she'd survive being hurt again."   
  
Kaoru's eyes widened. "Aoshi…you…"   
  
Kenshin frowned. "I don't know what happened in the past, but I have no intention of hurting her." He replied steadily.   
  
"You don't know?" Aoshi looked at Kaoru for a long moment. "I thought relationships were built on truth and trust." He said.   
  
"You've gone too far, Aoshi." Sano growled. "What goes on between them is none of our business."   
  
"It'll be our business soon enough. What if she…" Aoshi began.   
  
"Shut up." Kaoru said quietly, but the argument between her two crew members had gotten so loud that she wasn't heard. "Shut up. Shut up, SHUT UP!"   
  
Everyone at their table and the bar stopped talking.   
  
Kaoru stood up so fast her chair tipped over. Her face was dark with anger. "That is it, Aoshi. I warned you."   
  
"Kaoru, he was only looking out for you." Misao began, trying to smooth things over between her lover and her friend. "True, he did it in a completely insensitive and stupid way, but…"   
  
Kaoru ignored the other woman, her anger blinding her to everything except Aoshi. "I thought I had your respect, but it is quite obvious to me that I was wrong." She spat. "I want you off my ship. I'm tired of all your second guessing."   
  
Aoshi looked as though he had been slapped. "But Kaoru, I…"   
  
Sano looked troubled. "Kaoru, calm down. You don't mean that." He murmured, reaching out and giving her arm a reassuring pat. She jerked it away.   
  
"Kaoru, please…just think about it." Misao pleaded.   
  
Kaoru closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I am going for a long, long walk. We will talk about this later." She muttered. She opened her eyes and glared at Aoshi before wrenching her knife out of the table and holstering it in her boot. "Go back to Maiko's, Aoshi. And Sano, you get back to the ship and make sure those morons aren't tearing it apart in my absence."   
  
Kenshin, who had been silent during the entire exchange, spoke up. "And what about me, Kaoru?"   
  
"Go home." She replied before brushing past him and stomping to the door.   
  
There was a long silence at the table before Sano broke it.   
  
"Aoshi, you fucker. You don't ever bring that up. You'll be lucky if she just decides to cut off your balls." Sano said angrily, rubbing the bridge of his nose.   
  
"Bring what up?" Kenshin asked, looking at the three grave faces around him.   
  
Misao pursed her lips and looked at the dirty floor while Sano seemed strangely interested in the stains decorating the worn and rickety wooden table.   
  
"Kaoru was raped by the men who mutinied against her father." Aoshi replied, blue eyes inscrutable as he watched Kenshin's reaction. "They forced her to watch her father's murder and then they raped her."   
  
Kenshin felt the blood drain from his face.   
  
"Aoshi!" Misao exclaimed angrily. "You should have let Kaoru…"   
  
"She wouldn't have told him. She's afraid to, afraid that if he knew, he'd be disgusted and leave." Aoshi replied quietly. He looked at Kenshin, studying his face. "Before, you said you wouldn't hurt her. What about now? Most men would walk away at this point. So, tell me, Captain, what are you going to do now?"   
  
Kenshin returned Aoshi's gaze unflinchingly. "I'm going to go find her." He replied calmly before standing up and walking out the door.   
  


* * *

A/N: Some new bad guys for this story? Hmmm...maybe so. Kanryuu was, of course, the bad guy in the anime who killed the members of the Oniwabanshuu.   
He was based on a real guy, a traitor to the Shinsengumi, Takeda Kanryuusai. Takeda was a bad, bad man and was eventually assassinated by Saitou.   
Niimi Nishigi, the bad pirate I mentioned in the story was also a real person. Niimi was a crony of Serizawa Kamo's in the Shinsengumi and together they plundered and did VBT. (very bad things) Hijikata found out about it and forced Niimi to committ seppuku.   
  
That's all I can think of right now. My brain is toast. Moonspark is still shacked up with her man, and is also navigating the treacherous waters of grad school, so no beta-reader, but it looked okay to me. I am happy, happy happy with all my wonderful reviewers, you guys feed my ego!   
  
I do have one question...does Aoshi seem too asshole-ish? To me, he's just very, very worried about Kaoru and afraid of her getting hurt by Kenshin, who he doesn't trust. He's also a bit of a tact-less butthead. Maybe Misao can beat some manners into him?   
  
Oh, and to the reader who asked...WAFF means warm and fuzzy feeling.   
  
There will be a special treat for Valentine's Day! WOO!  



	7. Pleasure and Pain

**Letter of Marque **  
_Sequel to Between the Devil and the Deep _  
A Rurouni Kenshin AU Fic  
by Gemini

**Rated R:** For cursing and other naughty things

**Disclaimer:** This Rurouni Kenshin franchise is owned and operated by Earl "Nobuhiro" Watsuki,  
Tim "Shonen" Jump and "Sony" Jones. There are also a few silent partners I can't recall.  
_  
The events in this story take place one year after the end of 'Between the Devil and the Deep'_

**Chapter 7: Pleasure and Pain**

Kenshin hurried out of the Cat O'Nine Tails, but had to pause once he hit the street so that he could get his bearings. He looked around, hoping to determine which way Kaoru had gone, but it was impossible to tell. 'It's not as if she left you bread crumbs to follow.' He thought with a roll of his eyes.

Even at this late hour, the area around the harbor was teeming with all manner of people. Sailors and prostitutes rubbed elbows with merchants and other members of the middle and upper classes, everyone looking for a good time. Kenshin had spent little time in red light districts, and he had to admit to himself that he felt a bit uncomfortable.

"Hello, Red. How's about I show you a good time, eh?" A ghastly looking woman with stringy, filthy blonde hair and a tattered dress of indeterminate color wound herself around him, smiling up at him with a mouth filled with black, rotting teeth. He tamped down firmly on the urge to shake her off his arm and instead reached into his pocket with his free hand to produce a few bills.

"Actually, I'm looking for someone, maybe you can help." He said, waving the bills under her crooked nose.

Her eyes watched the money hungrily and she nodded. "I'd love to be of service, mate. Who're you lookin' for?"

"She's a young lady, about nineteen or twenty, with long black hair and blue eyes. She's wearing men's clothes and just left this bar," he jerked his thumb in the direction of the Cat O'Nine Tails. "I want to know which way she headed."

"Was she wearin' black pants and a red velvet vest, then?" The woman asked, her eyes still glued to the money.

"Yes." Kenshin felt a small upsurge of hope.

"She went towards the docks." The woman pointed a long, thorny fingernail in the direction of the docks. "'Bout five, ten minutes ago."

Praying silently that he wasn't being sent on a wild goose chase, Kenshin handed the woman the money, which she immediately tucked into her withered bosom. "Thanks a bunch, love." She said with a grotesque smile. "Come see me any ol' time, I'll give you a bit o' fun on the house." She winked at him and sauntered off.

He swallowed, wondering if he'd ever be so desperate for female company that he'd solicit that woman. 'Not as long as I'm alive and sane.' He thought, shaking his head slightly before starting off towards the docks.

The further he went from the red light district, the quieter and darker it became. Eventually, all he had to illuminate his path were the scattered lights of the occasional home or business, open late. He relaxed slightly when the tangy smell of salt water reached him, as familiar and comforting as home. Perhaps Kaoru drew as much consolation from the sea as he did, he mused. The sound of water slapping against wood pilings and the shrill call of sea gulls greeted him a few moments later, also familiar old friends.

The docks were deserted, their harsh lines and weathered appearance blunted by the darkness. Ships bobbed gently with the tide, black smears against a navy blue sky. He walked slowly past each pier, looking for Kaoru.

He had passed about ten ships when he found her, standing at one of the empty piers, arms wrapped around herself as though to give comfort. She was staring straight ahead, her head tilted slightly, listening, to what he did not know.

"Did he tell you?" She asked quietly, still staring at the sea.

Kenshin started, slightly surprised that she knew he was there. "What?"

"Aoshi. Did he tell you?"

He hesitated, not exactly sure how to answer. Finally, he decided that honesty was best. "Yes."

"I don't want your pity." She said firmly.

He frowned, his expression lost on her since she still hadn't turned around. "I wasn't planning on offering any." He replied.

"Liar." There was a tinge of bitterness in her voice that bothered him.

"Actually, I wanted to apologize to you." He said, stepping forward until he was close enough to touch her, but he didn't.

She finally turned around, her expression incredulous. "Apologize?"

He nodded, looking pained. "If I…if my advances were too aggressive…if I made you uncomfortable, I'm sorry."

Her eyes widened. "Are you worried that you might have scared me?"

He nodded again. "If I had known, I wouldn't have been so…" he hesitated, "I would have asked your permission and listened when you said no."

"But you still would have made advances? Even if you had known?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Yes."

"You're not disgusted?" She looked so pathetically amazed; it hurt him to see it.

He frowned down at her. "No, not at all. You weren't at fault. Why would I be disgusted?" He reached out a hand and brushed a few strands of stray hair away from her face. "You're still beautiful to me, Kaoru."

Her shoulders slumped and she laughed quietly. "Oh, you don't know how I dreaded..."

He gently folded her into a warm embrace, stroking her back soothingly. "Don't worry about it, love. My feelings haven't changed."

Her shoulders shook as she sobbed into his chest with relief. He was surprised, to say the least. She rarely showed such emotion or weakness. It was hard to explain, exactly, but he felt honored that she allowed herself to be vulnerable with him.

"You are such a complicated woman." He whispered as he laid soft, gentle kisses on her forehead.

Her laugh was choked with emotion. "You have no idea."

* * *

"You are so in the shit with the Captain, Aoshi." Sano muttered as he, Aoshi and Misao left the bar a half hour after Kenshin's abrupt departure. 

Aoshi merely grunted and shoved his hands deep into his pockets, a scowl etched on his face.

"Seriously, why have you been such an asshole? I thought Kaoru was important to you." Sano looked honestly puzzled.

Misao laughed, drawing Sano's gaze from Aoshi down to her. "What are you giggling about, midget?" He drawled irritably.

"Isn't it obvious, jackass?" Misao rolled her eyes at him.

"Well, unlike you, I don't have the luxury of listening to this fuckhead talk in his sleep." He paused and frowned. "Not that I would want to." He added hastily.

Misao laughed again. "Listen, you dickhead, Aoshi was being a complete and total asshole _because_ he deeply cares about Kaoru."

"You'd better start talking sense, shorty, before I knock you into that horse trough over there." Sano muttered, waving a hand in the direction of the aforementioned wooden vessel.

Misao seemed unruffled by his insults. "I'd kick you in the balls before you even had the chance, chicken head." She said cheerfully.

"Just explain, Misao." Aoshi cut off their banter.

Misao sighed and looked thoroughly put upon. "All right. I'll go very slowly so you two morons can understand me."

Neither Sano nor Aoshi looked amused.

She flashed them a genki grin and continued. "Aoshi considers Kaoru to be like a sister. Naturally, anything that hurts her, hurts him, just like it does the rest of us." Misao took a deep breath. "Aoshi was worried that Captain Himura, who Kaoru seems to have quite a thing for, which I can't understand…I mean, he's kind of cute, but he's too short, and that hair…"

"Misao." Aoshi growled.

She flushed. "Sorry. Anyway, Aoshi is worried that Captain Himura will hurt Kaoru. She obviously has feelings for him and it seems as though he shares them, but there is a lot that is keeping them apart." She ticked the reasons off on her fingers. "One, she's a pirate and is wanted for various crimes, two, he is a navy man, charged with bringing in criminals such as Kaoru, three, she won't leave her ship or her crew for anything, four, we can assume that he won't leave his post for anything, although I'm beginning to wonder about that, five, he has a certain standing in society and he has many, many women lusting after him and his bank account, and most importantly, six, she has this secret hanging over her head that she's afraid he'll discover."

Misao glanced at her six upraised fingers and wiggled them. "So, with all these problems, the chances are very good that she'll end up hurt. But despite that, Kaoru seems determined to have something with Captain Himura, and Aoshi, being the not so subtle blockhead that he is, decided that the only way to protect her was to make sure that Captain Himura was gotten rid of before he could do any real harm, which he tried to do by sending Kaoru to the guy's house yesterday to tell him to back off." She paused to glare at Aoshi, "That plan backfired, so then he figured that if Kaoru really wanted to be with Captain Himura, then he had to eliminate the one thing, over everything else, that was truly bothering Kaoru, the thing that he figured would be the deal breaker between the two of them if the Captain wasn't serious, that is, the truth about her rape. If he forced a confrontation, then they'd have to deal with it. And, happily, it appears as though Captain Himura and Kaoru have weathered this particular storm. Whether or not they'll survive the others is entirely up to them." She finished triumphantly.

Sano scratched his head. "So, because he loves Kaoru like a sister, Aoshi decided to hurt her…for her own benefit?"

"In a nut shell." Misao replied cheerfully.

"Crap. That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Sano muttered.

Misao shrugged. "Well, I didn't say it was right. I was just telling you what happened."

Aoshi ignored the argument the two were embroiled in and walked ahead, still scowling. He was annoyed at Misao for knowing him so well. It was slightly disconcerting to say the least. She had, in the past year, woven herself into the very fabric of his being and, although he sometimes had the urge to push her away, he knew he couldn't, she was too much a part of him. For a man who had spent the better part of his life isolating himself from people, it was a bit of a shock to suddenly be so dependent on another person like he was on Misao.

He was pulled from his musings by the feel of her arm slipping through his. Suddenly, he was aware of the fact that they were alone. "Where's Sano?"

"He went back to the ship." She replied quietly.

He nodded slightly and continued walking in silence.

"Aoshi?" She gave his arm a tug, stopping him in his tracks.

"What?"

"I won't pretend to approve of your methods, but I do think you did the right thing." She murmured. She pulled his hand out of his pocket and raised it to her lips for a kiss. "You're an idiot, but a sweet one."

He stared down at her with a frown, but he found his fingers tracing her lips of their own volition.

She smiled up at him, a wicked glint in her eyes. "I think you'll be punished soon enough, so you don't have to sleep on the couch tonight."

He raised an eyebrow. "How generous of you." He replied drolly.

"Well, you know me, always thinking of others." She took one of his fingers and sucked on it briefly, grinning at the growl he made low in his throat. "Let's hurry home, Aoshi."

He swallowed, taking a few seconds to marshal his control, lest he push her into some dark alley and have his way with her right there. Not that she'd mind, she certainly hadn't the last time, but he wanted more than just a rough stone wall and several minutes of pleasure. He wanted comfort. "Let's." He replied after a moment, taking her hand in his and pulling her towards where one Maiko's many small carriages was waiting to take them back to the manor.

* * *

It was well after two in the morning before Kaoru returned to Maiko's. She had been slightly annoyed that Aoshi and Misao hadn't waited for her, but not very surprised. She had, after all, told them to go home. 

Kenshin, being the chivalrous gentleman that he was, offered to take her home, if she didn't mind sharing a horse with him. She didn't, not at all. She found that riding with him pressed against her back, his strong arms encircling her as he held the reins was quite nice, though it left her with a restlessness she couldn't quite explain. The occasional kisses he would drop on her neck were nice, too. All in all, she was quite pleased that Aoshi and Misao had abandoned her.

When they reached the main house, Kenshin got off his horse first, so that he could help her down. Despite her protests, he grabbed her firmly around the waist and lifted her off. He didn't let go of her after her feet hit the ground, instead, he pulled her closer and kissed her full on the mouth. She wrapped her arms around his neck and reciprocated for a few moments, biting his lower lip gently before reluctantly pushing him away.

"I have to go." She murmured, caressing his cheek for a moment. "I still need to talk to Aoshi."

Kenshin dropped his hands obligingly, but looked slightly mutinous. His expression made her shiver.

"When will I see you again?" He asked.

"Soon, I'd imagine." She replied, taking a step towards the door. She dropped her gaze to the ground and studied the carefully raked gravel. "I'm meeting with Admiral Serizawa tomorrow, or today, I guess. He's invited me for lunch."

Kenshin cursed under his breath. "If he so much as lays a finger on you." He growled.

"Then I'll cut it off." Kaoru replied. She reached out and grabbed his hand. "Don't worry about me, Kenshin. I won't let him do anything. I plan on lacing his drink with one of Megumi's sleeping powders and while he's out, I'm going to go through his papers."

He squeezed her hand. "Be careful, Kaoru."

"Of course. I always am." She used her grip on his hand to pull him down for another kiss. "I'll see you soon." She murmured against his mouth.

She withdrew and went to Maiko's door, opening it slowly as not to make any noise. Aoshi had remembered to leave it unlocked for her. She turned and smiled at Kenshin as she slipped inside and he returned it. The last glimpse she had of him, silhouetted against the dark sky, moonlight playing with his hair, made her almost want to go back out there, grab him and drag him inside. She shut the door firmly and turned the lock, determinedly tamping down on that urge. She still had to talk to Aoshi.

Years of skulking had made her an expert at it; she glided through the reception hall and up the stairs without making a sound. She tiptoed down the hall, towards the room where Aoshi and Misao were staying, hoping to find her navigator awake.

She paused at the door, her eyes widening as she realized that he was most definitely awake, as was Misao. However, she didn't think that she should be interrupting them right then. She felt her face heat up at the impassioned noises the two were making and backed away from the door as though it were on fire. Later, she promised herself as she rushed to the quiet safety of her own room. She would most definitely talk to Aoshi later.

* * *

A/N: Not a new chapter, just a quick fix. This chapter had always bothered me, so I fixed it. 


	8. No Regrets

**Letter of Marque **  
_Sequel to Between the Devil and the Deep _  
A Rurouni Kenshin AU Fic   
by Gemini   
  
**Rated R:** For cursing and other naughty things   
  
**Disclaimer:** This Rurouni Kenshin franchise is owned and operated by Earl "Nobuhiro" Watsuki,   
Tim "Shonen" Jump and "Sony" Jones. There are also a few silent partners I can't recall.   
_  
The events in this story take place one year after the end of 'Between the Devil and the Deep'_   


  
Chapter 8: No Regrets  
  
  
Misao, clad in her dark green silk dressing gown and with her hair still in its loose sleeping braid, leaned against the wood paneled wall outside of Kaoru's room, a slight frown on her face as she strained her ears to hear what was going on between her friend and lover. She heard murmurs, occasionally punctuated with angry exclamations, which led her to worry that perhaps things weren't going well. She gnawed on her lower lip, her frown deepening. Aoshi had gone in an hour earlier, just as the sun had risen, determined to apologize for his behavior during the past weeks. Kaoru hadn't been at all pleased to see him, not that Misao blamed her friend one bit. Aoshi had truly crossed the line the night before.   
  
'Why did he have to be such an asshole to her?' Misao thought unhappily. Of course, she knew why, it was more of a rhetorical question. Aoshi, she had discovered, was almost incapable of having normal personal relationships. Having spent a good part of his childhood as a slave aboard Niimi's pirate ship being abused, he had learned to completely shut down his emotions and to avoid the company of others. He was very bad at relating to people. Their own relationship was one of near constant reassurance on Misao's part. She was always telling him that she loved him, that she understood him, that she would never leave him. It could be exhausting at times, but entirely worth it as far as she was concerned, visions of the night before flashing before her eyes.   
  
Their voices dropped lower, preventing her from even being able to pick out a few words here and there. Hoping to hear them better, she tiptoed closer to the door and focused on all her attention on the rising and falling sounds of their voices, trying to understand what they were saying. Kaoru no longer sounded angry, just tired, but Misao couldn't quite make out her words. Then suddenly, there was silence and she frowned. What was going on?   
  
She was completely unprepared for the door opening. She found herself staring straight at Aoshi's chest instead of the polished wooden panels of the door.   
  
"Misao?" He asked, slightly puzzled.   
  
"Um, hi." She straightened, her face bright red. "I was just…" She trailed off as she got a good look at his face. A small trickle of blood leaked from one corner of his mouth and one side of his face was slightly bruised. "Aoshi." She whispered, reaching up to wipe the blood off with her fingers. "Are you okay?"   
  
He grabbed her hand. "Fine." He replied in his usual monotone.   
  
"But, you're bleeding…" She wiggled her hand out of his grip, wiping away the final traces of blood.   
  
His eyes darkened. "Nothing that I didn't deserve." He said quietly. "Kaoru has decided to allow me to remain on the Kami Kaze."   
  
Misao dropped her hand and sighed. "Oh, Aoshi." She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. "I'm relieved for you."   
  
Gingerly, he returned her embrace. "Thank you."   
  
"Misao, I need your help." Kaoru's slightly irritated voice cut through their moment. "I can't get this corset and dress on without you."   
  
Misao pulled away from Aoshi and peered around him to where Kaoru stood by the end of the four poster bed, holding the aforementioned garments in her hands. "Sure."   
  
Forty minutes later, Kaoru was transformed from the tired, slightly rumpled pirate captain to a flawless society belle. The sapphire blue dress, delicately embroidered with silvery flowers, matched and enhanced her eyes and, thanks to a rather painful and tightly laced whale bone corset, her breasts heaved appealingly above the lacy neckline of her dress and her waist was a fashionable eighteen inches.   
  
"Wow, Kaoru." Misao stepped back and eyed her friend from her ornate slippers to her elaborately braided and styled hair. "You look fabulous. There is no doubt in my mind that the Admiral will fall to his knees and worship you the minute you step out of the carriage."   
  
Kaoru tried to laugh, but her corset didn't allow it. Instead, she only got out a breathy chuckle. "Thanks, Misao. Now, get me my pendant, it's on the dressing table."   
  
Misao carefully lifted the pendant from its open box and studied its intricate filigreed gold work. "This is the pendant that Megumi gave you?" she asked incredulously. "I can't tell where it's supposed to open."   
  
Kaoru held her hand out for it. "The filigree hides the hinges." She explained, taking the pendant from her friend. "If I pressed down on this opal here, the top would flip open." She lightly tapped on a milky white opal embedded in the center of the pendant.   
  
"And Megumi's powder is in there?" Misao peered at the pendant in Kaoru's hand.   
  
Kaoru nodded and put the necklace around her neck. Its chain was just long enough to nestle in her cleavage in a way that was carefully calculated to be as appealing as possible, just like the rest of her appearance.   
  
Misao shook her head and laughed. "You look like you're on the hunt, Kaoru."   
  
Kaoru grinned. "That's the point. The Admiral thinks I'm looking for a rich husband." She turned and regarded herself critically in the room's lone gilt mirror. With a look of amazement, she lightly touched her hair, her hand drifting down to smooth the front panel of the dress. She had never particularly considered herself beautiful before, but it was almost impossible to deny that she really did look quite attractive.   
  
"What if the Admiral tries something before you can drug him?" Misao asked, a worried frown tugging at her mouth, dragging Kaoru away from her personal inspection.   
  
"I've got a knife strapped to my thigh. If he so much as looks at me funny, I'll turn him from a tenor to a soprano." Kaoru said nonchalantly. She glanced at Misao's reflection in the mirror. "You remember what to do, right?"   
  
Misao nodded. "If you're not back by sun down, then I go find Sano and Aoshi goes to the Admiral's home."   
  
Kaoru patted her hair a final time. "Right. Call my carriage, will you, Misao? I want to get this over with."   
  


* * *

  
The Admiral made a noise, causing Kaoru to stop her searching and glance over at his prone form with concern. He was still lying in a heap on the floor of his office, a line of drool leaking down his chin and darkening the carpet beneath his head. The noise had been a snore. She pulled a disgusted face and turned back to her task.   
  
'He should be out for about five more minutes.' She reassured herself as she flipped through another pile of documents, scanning each one briefly for content before moving on. It had been disgustingly easy to slip the powder into his drink while he fawned over her and it had been an even simpler matter to convince him to take her away from the watchful eyes of his servants and into the privacy of his personal office. The lecher had only just begun to paw at her when the opiate had kicked in, sparing her from having to do something unpleasant to him. Misao would not have been happy if Kaoru had returned the expensive silk dress covered in blood.   
  
'Nothing, nothing, nothing!' She was beginning to get irritated. The Admiral had a copious amount of paper piled haphazardly on his desk, in no particular order. And, while some of the papers were rather incriminating, none of them pointed to Katsu's whereabouts. She slapped down another piece of paper and scanned the desktop, looking for something, anything. Then, she saw it: the corner of a sheet of cheap newsprint with a very familiar border. She eagerly pulled the paper out and had to stifle a shout of triumph. It was a copy of Katsu's newsletter, 'The People's Voice'. The front story was a very unflattering article on the Admiral, and the man himself had written things in the margins, the harsh scribble, the numerous ink blots and the rather rude epithets scrawled along the edges all spoke of his anger.   
  
She read all the notes and let out a little grunt of disappointment. While entertaining, there was nothing that pointed to Katsu. Dropping the paper, she went through the rest of the stack, finding several more copies of the newsletter, all of them with articles about the Admiral. Just as she was about to give up, she reached the bottom of the pile and a poorly written note, not in the Admiral's handwriting.   
  
"We have Tsukioika. South Pier. Awaiting your instructions.-Kanryuu." Kaoru read aloud, a knot growing in her belly. From the research she had already done on the Admiral, she knew that he owned a building in the warehouse district, the south pier. That had to be where Katsu was. She took a deep breath and put everything back where she had found it. The Admiral was going to awaken at any moment and she had to be by his side when he did.   
  


* * *

  
Both Aoshi and Misao were waiting for her when the carriage drew up to the front door. Not bothering to wait for the footman to open her door and help her out, she jumped out, her face flushed with excitement.   
  
"Everything went well, I take it." Aoshi remarked with a raised eyebrow.   
  
Kaoru grinned. "I should quit being a pirate and join a theatre troupe, I swear."   
  
"What did you find out?" Misao asked eagerly.   
  
"I'll tell you in a minute, but first, Misao you have to help me get out of this dress. I'm going to die." Kaoru pressed her hand against her chest and scowled. "And Aoshi, you go get Sano from the Kami Kaze. We have some planning to do."   
  
"That won't be necessary. He's been here since lunch." Aoshi replied. "He's currently in the kitchen, eating everything in sight."   
  
Kaoru rolled her eyes. "Why am I not surprised? All right, tell him to quit stuffing his face and the two of you come up to my room in about ten minutes." She gestured for Misao to follow her and the two went up the stairs, Kaoru having to stop every once in a while to catch her breath.   
  
By the time Aoshi and Sano met up at Kaoru's door, she was quite happily clad in her usual loose and comfortable clothing. "God, what a relief." She muttered as she sat down on her bed. Misao shook her head and laughed as she hung up the dress.   
  
"Honestly, Kaoru, it wasn't that bad." She admonished.   
  
"Speak for yourself. I don't see you walking around in those things everyday." Kaoru replied archly.   
  
Misao made a face at her friend.   
  
"All right, Kaoru, tell us what you found." Sano plopped down heavily into a large comfortable chair, a fish bone sticking out of his mouth. Aoshi eschewed a chair and instead leaned against the doorway, his arms crossed, his expression expectant.   
  
"The Admiral had Niimi's men kidnap Katsu. They're holding him at Serizawa's south pier warehouse. Or at least, they were. I have no idea if he's still there, or even if he's still alive, but it's more information than we've had in a long time." Kaoru replied, rubbing her waist to massage out some of the lingering stiffness from the corset.   
"So Niimi is definitely involved." Sano glanced over at Aoshi, who's face was dark.   
  
Kaoru nodded and followed Sano's gaze to the other man. "Aoshi, I once promised you that if the opportunity ever arose, you could deal with Niimi and Kanryuu as you saw fit. I would say that the opportunity has just presented itself. What do you want to do?"   
  
The navigator shifted slightly, his hands curling into fists. "Katsu is our first priority. We find him, then we deal with those two. If I'm able, I'd like to kill them both with my bare hands, but I wouldn't be disappointed if one of you were to take them out. Just as long as they suffer first."   
  
"I have no problem with that." Sano grunted, cracking his knuckles.   
  
"Neither do I." Kaoru smiled slightly. "All right, listen up, here's what we are going to do. Sano, you go back to the ship and gather the crew, but leave Kamatari and a few others. Meet us at the warehouse tomorrow morning, just before the sun rises. Have Kamatari get the ship to the south pier and get some of the men to row long boats to the pier so we can escape. If all goes well, then we'll grab Katsu and escape on the longboats to the Kami Kaze. After that, we'll get the hell out of here. Make sure everyone is heavily armed and ready to fight."   
  
"What if things don't go well?" Aoshi asked quietly.   
  
"Then we die." Kaoru replied evenly.   
  
Misao whimpered, drawing her friend's attention to her. "Misao, you go back with Sano. Tell Megumi to be ready to deal with injuries. I have no idea what kind of shape Katsu will be in when or if we find him, and some of us may get injured if Niimi is there."   
  
Misao nodded, her face pinched with worry.   
  
"Don't worry so much, Misao. We're pirates, it's what we do." Kaoru said with a smile. "Now, Aoshi, you can go back to the ship or you can stay here, it's up to you. You might want to go with Misao, since she's so worried."   
  
Aoshi nodded, his eyes on Misao. "I'll go with them."   
  
Kaoru abruptly stood up. "Okay, then. Go back to the ship. I'll see you all in the morning."   
  
Aoshi took Misao's arm and escorted her from the room. Sano hefted himself out of the chair and made to leave as well, but paused at the door. "No matter what happens tomorrow, we won't be coming back here, right?" he asked in a low voice.   
  
"Right." Kaoru's voice sounded strained.   
  
"Meaning you won't ever see him again, right?"   
  
"Right."   
  
Sano turned and regarded his captain with a long, measuring look. "I'm not like Aoshi, so I'm not going to be an asshole about this. I know how you feel about him and I'm fine with it. He's proven himself to be a good man. So, Kaoru, if you want to stay…"   
  
She cut him off. "Of course not. My father's ship is everything to me, Sano. And my crew, they're my family."   
  
Sano sighed and ran a rough hand through his hair. "It's complicated, isn't it? Normally, I avoid complications, but this one time, I'm gonna stick my nose in. You should do what makes you happy. Ever since Tetsuro died, you've been putting everyone else's wants and needs ahead of your own. It's made you a good captain, but at the same time, you're fucking miserable."   
  
"Sano…" Kaoru tried to interrupt him but he wouldn't let her.   
  
"I know you were thinking about leaving the ship before all that shit with Jineh happened. I know that even now you still think about it, from time to time. You can't stand there and tell me that you don't crave a normal life. A house, a husband, shit, maybe even a few kids…"  
  
She laughed, bitterly. "A normal life? Sano, I have no idea how to live a normal life. Nor do I like the idea of popping out dozens of kids while baking bread, cleaning house and waiting hand and foot on a man. Maybe once I thought about that sort of stuff, but now, it doesn't hold much temptation for me."   
  
"Even a normal life with Captain Himura?" Sano countered.   
  
Kaoru shook her head. "No. Even with him, I'd be miserable cooped up in some drafty old house with a bunch of kids and servants to deal with while he sailed all over the world, coming home for a month or two at a time. My life has always been my own and I have no urge to hand it over to anyone."   
  
Sano frowned. "Then I think you should at least say goodbye to him. End it, once and for all. No regrets."   
  
She smiled sadly. "I've been trying to do that practically since we dragged his body out of the ocean. I have to admit that I'm a bit of a coward where he is concerned."   
  
"You're not a fucking coward, Kaoru. Not the girl who stood up and defeated the man who killed her father." Sano said vehemently. "It'll eat you up if you don't end it properly."   
  
Kaoru eyed her second in command. "When did you get so fucking smart, Sano?"  
  
Sano grinned. "I've always been smart. You've just been too stupid to notice." He waved at her as he walked out the door.   
  
Kaoru chuckled for a moment, but her laughter quickly died. She glanced at the clock on her mantle. It was seven o'clock. If she left now, she could be at Kenshin's by nine at the latest.   
  
She ran through at least a dozen arguments as to why she shouldn't go, but they all lacked conviction. She really wanted to see him, just one last time. With a sigh, she gave in. She would go to him and say goodbye. It would kill her, but she had no choice. She hastily strapped on her sword and guns and ferreted out her jacket from the large closet. Without a glance back, she slammed the door behind her and headed down to Maiko's stables to see about procuring a horse. Hopefully, by the time she got to his house, she'd have something coherent to say. Hopefully.   
  


* * *

A/N: Did I say Valentine's Day? Er... I meant, um, March the Seventh Day. Yeah, that's the ticket. Sorry about that. I had a whole 'nother chapter written, but I just wasn't happy with it. I've rewritten the dang thing about five times. Thanks for your patience and please do let me know if there are problems with this chapter as I am still beta-reader-less. (Moonspark has to come up for air sometime, I guess.)   
  
Next chapter will be lime-ish. Eh heh heh heh!   
  
  



	9. Reading is FUNdamental

Letter of Marque   
Sequel to Between the Devil and the Deep   
A Rurouni Kenshin AU Fic   
by Gemini   
  
Rated R: For cursing and other naughty things   
  
Disclaimer: This Rurouni Kenshin franchise is owned and operated by Earl "Nobuhiro" Watsuki, Tim "Shonen" Jump and "Sony" Jones. There are also a few silent partners I can't recall.   
  
The events in this story take place one year after the end of 'Between the Devil and the Deep'   
  
Chapter 9: Reading is FUNdamental  
  
  
Kenshin scowled down at the official Navy report in his hands. Admiral Serizawa was a very, very bad man. He had known some of it; almost everyone in the Navy knew at least a little of the Admiral's rather sordid reputation, but to see all this evidence against him in black and white and to know that nothing was being done…it made Kenshin's blood boil.   
  
His guest and author of the report, Captain Hajime Saitou, puffed lazily on a cigarette, a half filled glass of scotch dangling loosely in one hand. He was lounging in one of the leather chairs in Kenshin's personal office, watching his comrade with sharp golden eyes. "It angers you, too, I see." He observed as he lifted the glass of scotch to his lips.   
  
"Why hasn't he been arrested? I know of men who've been executed for less." Kenshin growled, slapping the report down on his desk in anger.   
  
Saitou shrugged. "He's very well connected. We can't lay a hand on him."   
  
Kenshin shook his head. "That shouldn't matter…the man has broken almost every law in the book!"   
  
"Have you always been this naïve?" Saitou asked as he stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray Kenshin's housekeeper had thoughtfully provided him with.   
  
"Damn it, Saitou, we're supposed to fight AGAINST men like Serizawa, not put them in power." Kenshin ran a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated.   
  
"You sound like Admiral Hijikata."   
  
Kenshin arched an eyebrow. "Even he's frustrated and helpless?"   
  
Saitou offered Kenshin a wolfish smile. "You mentioned earlier that Captain Kamiya's friend, Tsunan Tsukioika, was somehow getting information on the Admiral and then publishing it in his newsletters, correct?   
  
Kenshin nodded, not quite understanding where Saitou was going with this.   
  
"Well, let's just say that Admiral Hijikata was an avid reader of 'The People's Voice'."   
  
This time, both of Kenshin's eyebrows shot up. "Wait…you mean…"   
  
Saitou produced another cigarette from the depths of his uniform coat and lit it, taking several deep drags before replying to Kenshin's unfinished question. "The Admiral is not as helpless as he seems. He just prefers doing things at his own pace. Of course, now that his favorite journalist is missing, he's become rather concerned."   
  
Kenshin felt a headache coming on. "Admiral Hijikata put him in danger. And now, he's missing, probably dead and Kaoru's…"   
  
"So now she's 'Kaoru'?" Saitou smirked and drained the last of the scotch from his glass. "And what does she call you, I wonder?"   
  
Kenshin's eyes narrowed. "That's none of your business."   
  
Saitou leaned forward, his expression cool and calculating. "You, Captain Himura, aren't nearly as well connected as Admiral Serizawa. If it got out that you were consorting with a known pirate…"   
  
"Are you threatening me?" Kenshin asked darkly.   
  
"Just making an observation." Saitou drawled. "It's just not a very good career move, that's all."   
  
"Well, I've been rethinking my career aspirations of late." Kenshin muttered, tapping a finger absently on Saitou's report. "I'm not so sure that I want to be part of an organization that condones such ruthlessness."   
  
"So then, what are you planning to do? Give up your commission and go on account(1)? Pirates aren't exactly known for their love of justice, either."   
  
Kenshin scowled. "Not everything is so black and white, Saitou."   
  
Saitou leaned back into the chair and chuckled. "I suppose not."   
  
The two men sat in silence for a long while until Saitou finally broke it.   
  
"Is that report all you needed?" He asked.   
  
"It is. I appreciate you bringing it to me on such short notice. I hope Tokio was not too put out with me dragging you away from your family." Kenshin retreated back into the safety of polite conversation, firmly tamping down on his anger.   
  
Saitou snorted. "More than likely, she was relieved to get rid of me."   
  
Kenshin swallowed a smile. "And how is the baby? It was a boy, was it not?"   
  
Saitou nodded. "Tatsuo. He's almost ten months old now."   
  
Kenshin waited for Saitou to continue, but the child's age and name was apparently all the man had to offer. So much for a boastful parent.   
  
They exchanged a few more banal pleasantries before Saitou terminated their meeting. Kenshin escorted his guest to the front door, making useless small talk while Saitou donned his coat and gloves, offered to him by a nervous servant girl.   
  
Saitou waited until the girl had scurried back into the bowels of the house before speaking again. "Be careful with that information, Captain. Admiral Serizawa is not a man you want to have as your enemy." He said quietly.   
  
"I understand." Kenshin replied.   
  
"Good." With that, Captain Saitou left, leaving a trail of cigarette smoke in his wake.   
  
Kenshin went back to his office and began a more thorough examination of the report that Saitou had been ordered to write. He felt himself growing angrier the more he read. Was there no justice in this world? How could a man like the Admiral get away with doing what he did? How could the Navy condone it and then turn around and condemn others for lesser crimes?   
  
The headache that had threatened him earlier finally made good on its promise; his temples throbbed with pain. He buried his face in his hands and sighed in frustration.   
  
He was so focused on his anger and pain that he didn't hear his office door creak open, or the soft tread of footsteps on his wooden floor. But he did feel the cool hands that gently began to massage his temples in an attempt to relieve him of his headache. Startled, he jumped, his hands blindly searching the desk for a weapon, Saitou's warning about the Admiral echoing in his mind. Had Serizawa already discovered Kenshin's interest in his shady dealings and sent someone to kill him? He didn't stop to consider that it was highly unlikely that one of the Admiral's assassins would try to alleviate his headache before running him through. He grabbed the closest thing to a weapon he could find: his silver letter opener. It wasn't much, but it was sharp and applied with enough force, it could be useful. He turned and thrust it in the direction of his supposed assailant.   
  
Kaoru leapt back a few feet, deftly avoiding the letter opener being propelled in the direction of her stomach. "Watch it you idiot!"   
  
Kenshin dropped his weapon and gaped at her. "Kaoru? What…? I almost…"   
  
She rolled her eyes. "As if you could have hurt me with that." She said, pointing rather disdainfully at the letter opener lying harmlessly on the floor.   
  
"How did you get in here?" He asked, looking behind her to see if Saya or one of the others servants had come in with her.   
  
She grinned. "Trade secret."   
  
He blinked at her stupidly.   
  
She sighed. "Should we start over again?"   
  
He nodded. "Please. I'm a little confused."   
  
"I wanted to see you, so…here I am." She offered as an explanation.   
  
He raised an eyebrow. "And to what do I owe the honor?"   
  
"Do I need a reason?" She asked defensively.   
  
"Of course not, it's just that I'm a little surprised to see you." He replied hastily, hoping to soothe her.  
  
"You never did give me a tour of your house, you know. I only saw a little bit down stairs." She said abruptly, spinning on her heel to look around his office. He watched her in silence as she went over to his bookshelf and read the titles in his collection. "My father once said that you could tell a lot about a person by what they read." She observed as she ran a finger along the spines of some of the books.   
  
"Oh? And what can you tell about me?" Kenshin asked, sounding both curious and amused. His heart was slowly returning to its normal speed and he felt himself relaxing in her presence.   
  
"Hmm…" She worried her lower lip thoughtfully for a moment before replying. "You like ships. And swords."   
  
Kenshin choked on what sounded suspiciously like a laugh. "Anything else?" He asked after a moment.   
  
Kaoru plucked a particular book from the shelf and held it up for him to see. "And you're a pervert."  
  
"What?"   
  
She tossed the book to him and he caught it easily. He took one look at the title and immediately turned a dark shade of red. "I can explain…"   
  
"And here are two more!" Kaoru took another one of the books off the shelf and turned to him to shake her head in amazement. "Such tawdry bits of fiction nestled between such respectable books on philosophy and warfare." What looked like a smile tugged on the corners of her lips.   
  
Kenshin looked rather embarrassed. Then, suddenly, his expression changed and he looked up at her accusingly. "Wait, how do you know what these are?"   
  
It was her turn to blush. She cleared her throat. "Misao reads them. She lends them to me sometimes. But I'm a woman, you know. It's not so embarrassing that I read them. Why do you really have them, anyway?"   
  
He muttered something under his breath that she couldn't quite hear.   
  
"What was that?"   
  
He sighed. "Know thy enemy. It's just common sense. Before going into battle, you should always know what you're facing."   
  
Karou goggled at him for a long moment before bursting into gales of laughter. "You…you mean that you read these for…information?" She managed to gasp out. She collapsed into a convenient chair and continued to laugh, clutching the smutty book to her chest like a lifeline.  
  
Kenshin looked rather wounded. "What's so wrong with that?" He asked, offended.   
  
Her laughter having mellowed to the occasional giggling hiccup, Kaoru flipped open the book in her hand and read from a random passage:  
"Storms soothed her, but apparently excited him, Mother Nature in her finest fury. Yes, there was something primitive in that, something that might incite a man's passions." Kaoru stopped and fluttered her eyelashes, dropping her voice to a low, dramatic whisper before continuing, "She wished he hadn't done it. Knowing how wonderful and exciting it was, being kissed by him, wasn't going to help her peace of mind any.(2)" She finished her dramatic monologue with a snort and tossed the book to the floor. That particular passage had hit rather close to home and she found herself slightly annoyed by it.   
  
"I hope you weren't trying to find out information on me, Kenshin. None of those books looked like they were about wooing female pirate captains, although now I see where you got your rather…aggressive courting habits from."   
  
"You said you liked my aggressive courting." Kenshin muttered, looking like a sullen school boy.   
  
"Indeed. But if you expect me to swoon and fall at your feet, you're mistaken." Kaoru wagged a finger at him.   
  
He sniffed in irritation. "There was some pretty good information in there, I'll have you know. And I didn't hear you complaining when I tried some of it."   
  
She suddenly looked quite interested in what he was saying. "Oh? And what did you try on me?"   
  
Kenshin rose from his chair and retrieved the book she had thrown to the floor. She straightened in her chair as he approached her, trying desperately not to look as nervous as she felt, given the rather steamy look in his eyes.   
  
He flipped the book open and scanned a few chapters before he found something. "Here, on page 177." He held it so she could read the paragraph in question.   
  
"Sound familiar?"   
  
When had his voice dropped to that low, sexy growl? She wondered as she finished reading, feeling a slight blush heat up her face at both that and the story. "The dining room, the other day." She managed.  
  
"You seemed quite pleased with that." He flipped through some more pages. "And here, on page 215, although I never got to the best part."   
He once again held it out so she could read it.   
  
"The best part?" Her face went from pink to bright red as she finished reading the section he had indicated and moved on to the next paragraph, which she had to agree really was the best part. "Oh…my."   
  
"See?"   
  
She ignored the smug tone and focused on the fact that the 'research material' had some rather interesting ideas. Ideas she wanted to try.   
  
"I see your point, Kenshin." She said after a long, thoughtful moment.   
  
He was startled out of a reply when she stood up, grabbed him roughly by his shirt and kissed him heatedly. He dropped the book and returned the favor, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into him. It was several minutes before either of them came up for air.   
  
"Kenshin?" Kaoru purred, running a fingertip down his chest in a rather enticing move.   
  
"Yes?" His eyes followed her finger's downward path with interest.   
  
"Do you think we could give page 215 a try?"   
  
He blinked and looked up at her, the lust in his expression tempered with concern. "Are you sure, Kaoru? I don't want to do anything that you aren't ready for."   
  
She smiled at him and pushed a few loose strands of red hair away from his face. "Oh, I'm ready for it. You have no idea how ready."   
  
He returned her smile. "Well then, why don't we go conduct a little research?"   
  


* * *

(1) To go "on account" means to become a pirate.   
(2) Excerpts taken from 'The Heir' by Johanna Lindsey   
  
A/N: I couldn't do it. Oh, how I tried. I really, really did try to write some smut to go with this chapter, but in the end, I got so bogged down by the, ahem, 'technical' details that the story really suffered. So, since someone once said that the brain is the most powerful sexual organ a human has, I'll leave the naughtiness up to your imagination.   
  
Sorry for the month long absence from posting, but Lord, life has really been something lately. I got promoted at work, which is fabbo, but it also means more responsibility and less time. Couple that with school and personal things to attend to...I've just been waaay too busy running around to write. But, this story is nearly done and so is school. I'm hoping to have it all wrapped up before summer comes. Keep your fingers crossed, children!   
  
As for the title of this chapter, ha! That was the title of a reading program I had in school. Trust a librarian to remember these things and make books a central point in an erotic exchange. I really need to get out more. Bah. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Comments, critiques and cookies all welcome!   
  
  



	10. The Morning After

**Letter of Marque**  
_Sequel to Between the Devil and the Deep_  
A Rurouni Kenshin AU Fic  
by Gemini  
  
**Rated R**: For cursing and other naughty things  
  
**Disclaimer:** This Rurouni Kenshin franchise is owned and operated by Earl "Nobuhiro" Watsuki,  
Tim "Shonen" Jump and "Sony" Jones. There are also a few silent partners I can't recall.  
  
**The events in this story take place one year after the end of 'Between the Devil and the Deep' **  
  
**Chapter 10 : The Morning After**

* * *

For almost her entire young life, Kaoru had slept alone. That meant, of course, that she also awoke alone. With that in mind, it shouldn't be too surprising that she was quite confused when she awoke the next morning to find herself not only in a strange bedroom, but also in the company of someone. It took a few moments for her sleep-muddled mind to clear enough for her to recall why it was that she was currently spooned against a warm, NAKED body, whose owner had wrapped a strong arm around her waist as though to prevent her from leaving. 

'Kenshin. I'm in his bed… and last night we…' Kaoru turned bright red as the previous evening's nocturnal activities came back to her in vivid detail. Following on the heels of those particular thoughts were other, more urgent ones. Specifically about Katsu, Admiral Serizawa's warehouse and a dawn appointment with her crew. Alarmed, she looked towards the curtained windows that faced the east to see if she had over slept. They were only partially drawn and it was possible for her to see that it was still dark. A very faint light at the horizon heralded the coming dawn, but she still had enough time to meet her men, if she left immediately.   
  
She didn't want to leave, and for a long moment, she considered staying right where she was. But her accursed sense of duty reared its ugly head and she soon found herself trying to escape Kenshin's hold without waking him. She knew that if he awoke, she would be in trouble because at this moment, she was weak. If he asked her to stay, she would. If he asked her to marry him, to abandon everything and spend her life with him, she would, damn it.   
  
Slowly, carefully, she eased out from under his arm. He stirred and murmured her name sleepily. She cursed silently and prayed that he could be coaxed back to slumber with little fuss.   
  
"Shh…go back to sleep." She whispered, gently touching his face with just the tips of her fingers. He turned his head into her touch so that she was cradling his cheek, and cracked open one sleepy amethyst eye.   
  
"Where are you going?" He asked, opening his other eye and blinking at her owlishly.   
  
"Just to wash up a bit. Don't worry." She lied, glad that the room was dark enough to make her expression hard to read.   
  
He smiled and turned his face to kiss the hand that still cupped his face. "I love you."   
  
It took every ounce of her strength not to throw herself back into his arms and vow to never leave him again. She bit her lip and willed her tears back. Sano had told her to resolve things with Kenshin, but she couldn't. She really was a coward. She didn't want to see the hurt in his eyes or hear it in his voice. She didn't want to have to justify her actions to him, knowing that she could barely justify them to herself. What Kaoru wanted was for her last memories of Kenshin to be these sweet and intimate moments. She wanted to remember him just as he was right then, sleepy and handsome, his voice hoarse as he told her that he loved her.   
  
She lowered her lips to his and kissed him gently, just the barest caress, more reassurance than anything else. "I love you, too. I love you so very much." She whispered. "Now go back to sleep. I'll only be a minute."   
  
He nodded and closed his eyes, sinking back into his pillow with a smile still on his face.   
  
She slid the rest of the way off the bed and began gathering up her clothes from where they had been carelessly tossed the night before. She dressed swiftly, her eyes straying to the bed from time to time to make sure Kenshin wasn't awake again. As she pulled on her last boot, she took one long, final look at him, memorizing every detail.   
  
Kaoru had to take several deep and calming breaths before she was able to turn her back on him and quietly leave the room, praying for him to stay asleep long enough for her to get away.

* * *

It took Kaoru a long while to find her men once she arrived at the docks an hour later, but she finally located them, hiding in the shadows of a dilapidated warehouse that stood a stone's throw away from Admiral Serizawa's equally decrepit building. Aoshi and Sano were there, along with Chou, Soujiro, Hannya, Shikijo and Beshimi. Her best fighters; all of them, especially Chou, were armed to the teeth. Then again, Chou was always armed to the teeth.   
  
She slipped into the alleyway and greeted them warmly, almost as though there was nothing out of the ordinary going on, as though they weren't heavily armed and about to take on a dangerous enemy. Sano waited until she was within reach, then grabbed her arm and steered her away from the others, ignoring their curious looks.   
  
"Did everything go okay?" He whispered, clearly concerned for her.   
  
"Fine." She replied lightly. "All taken care of." She pulled her arm from his grip and turned to her men. "Are all of you ready?"   
  
They nodded silently.   
  
"Good. I have no idea what we're going to find in there. Maybe nothing, maybe Niimi's entire crew, I don't know. But Katsu might be in there and we're going to save his stupid ass even if it kills us." Kaoru checked her two pistols to make sure they were loaded and gave her sword a pat. "Let's go."

* * *

Yahiko was sprawled across his bed, his small frame managing to take up nearly the entire double bed that dominated his bedroom. He snored lightly and dreamed the dreams of a nine-year old boy, mostly centering on Tsubame and an entire gourmet picnic lunch he had made just for her. She was generously praising his culinary skills when a loud crash and cursing dragged him abruptly from his sleep.   
  
The noises had come from the direction of Kenshin's bedroom, which was three doors down from Yahiko's. At first, the puzzled and sleepy boy didn't know what to do or think. He could tell from the way light was weakly coming into his room that it was morning, probably about six, if that. But what was going on this early? Had Kenshin or one of the maids had an accident?   
  
Curious, and not a little concerned, he got out of bed and went to his door, cracking it open to look out into the hallway. Saya, still in her nightgown and robe, her long gray hair in a braid, was wringing her hands at the head of the stairs. Behind her, several other servants cowered, unsure what to do.   
  
"What's going on?" Yahiko asked, fully awake now.   
  
"Master Himura seems to be upset." Saya said, her face creased in worry. "In all the years I've worked for him…I've never…"   
  
Her explanation was cut short by another crash and more cursing. One of the servant girls let out an alarmed squeak.   
  
A few moments later, Kenshin's bedroom door burst open and he came flying out, looking rather disheveled and angry. Normally meticulous about his appearance, his current state sent waves of alarm through his already concerned staff and his ward. His red hair was pulled into a sloppy ponytail, loose strands flying around his face as though they had a mind of their own. He was wearing a wrinkled pair of pants and a hastily donned shirt that was only half-buttoned. His sword hung at his waist, shoved haphazardly through his belt. He had not even bothered to find its scabbard. Most alarmingly, his right hand was bloody and bruised, as though he had slammed it repeatedly into something. His expression was one that Yahiko had only seen once before, and that was aboard the Kami Kaze, when Kenshin had stood by Kaoru's bedside, listening to Megumi's grim prognosis for her captain's survival. It frightened the boy then and it frightened him now.   
Kenshin marched to the stairs, ignoring his staff all of whom scurried out of his way. Only Yahiko had the courage to follow after him as he stomped down the staircase to the foyer below.   
  
"Kenshin?" Yahiko whispered when it appeared that his guardian was going to walk out the door. "Are you okay?"   
  
Kenshin paused, his bloody hand resting on the doorknob. "No, I'm not." He replied gruffly. "Kaoru's gone off and I have the sneaking suspicion that she's not coming back. I think she's found what she was looking for and is planning on leaving immediately."   
  
"Are you going to go find her?" Yahiko asked nervously. "I don't think she'd like that." He didn't need to ask how Kenshin had suddenly come to the conclusion that Kaoru had disappeared. The boy had seen her sneaking down the hallway the night before.   
  
"Probably not. But if she thinks she can just disappear without saying a word to me, she's gravely mistaken. Especially not after…" He trailed off and cleared his throat. "Never mind. Apologize to Saya and the staff for me, will you? I didn't mean to frighten them."   
  
"I will." Yahiko murmured.   
  
"Good. I'll be back soon, Yahiko." He turned and offered his ward a half-hearted smile.   
  
The boy nodded solemnly. "Good luck, Kenshin."   
  
"I'll need it." Kenshin replied as he pulled open the door and stepped out into the early morning sunshine, determined to find Kaoru. He had an idea where he should start looking.

* * *

Kenshin handed the reigns of his horse to Maiko Hamaguchi's stable boy, ignoring the young man's startled expression. He didn't particularly care how bad he looked right then. The only concern he had was Kaoru.   
  
Madame Hamaguchi's butler gave Kenshin a similar look, only his was overlaid with a sneer. "I doubt Madame Hamaguchi will see you, sir." The man said stiffly. "She has a guest and is not inclined to entertain persons such as yourself."   
  
Kenshin frowned. "You will tell your mistress that Captain Kenshin Himura of His Majesty's Imperial Navy is here to speak with her."   
  
The butler's expression changed and he nodded. He turned smartly on his heel and marched down the hall, muttering to himself once he believed himself to be out of earshot. "First the pirates and now another Navy man? Who are we to entertain next? Bandits?"   
  
Unfortunately for the butler, Kenshin had rather good hearing and he found himself to be quite concerned by the man's comment. Who else was here? Could Admiral Serizawa have found out about Kaoru?"   
  
He stewed on that until the butler returned, looking almost embarrassed. "Madame will see you now." He said solicitously, leading Kenshin into the large foyer and through a set of mahogany doors into her large, airy morning room.   
  
"Ah, Captain Himura, is it? Kaoru has spoken of you often, and quite fondly." Maiko Hamaguchi, resplendent in a pale pink gown sprigged with tiny embroidered flowers, rose from her seat and held out her hand to him. He took it and gave her knuckles a perfunctory kiss, his eyes all the while darting around the room, looking for her other guest.   
  
"It is a rare thing for Kaoru to have such esteem for a person. Generally, she seems to dislike most everyone." Maiko smiled and removed her hand from his, her sharp eyes taking in his battered hand and disheveled appearance. She said nothing about it, however. Instead, she offered him a seat.   
  
"I'm afraid I am in a mood to dispense with pleasantries, Madame. I must apologize for my behavior and my appearance, but I need to speak to Kaoru. Is she here?" Kenshin asked brusquely.   
Maiko raised an eyebrow. "No, Captain. She left last night and I do not expect her to return."   
  
Kenshin's expression darkened. "I see. And you do not know where she is?"   
  
Maiko turned and moved to seat herself in one of the overstuffed chintz covered chairs that the room offered. She took a moment to settle herself and smooth out her skirts before she replied. "Last I knew of her, Captain, she was with you." Her tone was polite, but underneath, there was steel.   
  
Kenshin had the good grace to look embarrassed.   
  
A small smile flitted over his hostess's mouth. "Didn't expect me to know that, did you? Well, I know a lot more than you think."   
  
"Then you do know where she is?" Kenshin sounded almost desperate.   
  
"No, but I do." A man's voice, deep and authoritative, interrupted their conversation. Kenshin turned, his hand on the hilt of his sword, prepared for almost anything, except for the man standing in the doorway.  
  
"Ah, there you are, Toshi! I was beginning to think you had gotten lost on the way to the washroom." Maiko admonished her guest gently.   
  
"Your house is indeed large, Maiko, but I did not get lost. I was speaking with a subordinate." He replied.   
  
Kenshin gaped at the other man, his mind making connections left and right.   
  
Admiral Hijikata strode into the morning room, Lieutenant Okita, Saitou's second in command, at his heels. "I have just gotten word of the young lady's whereabouts." He said, his eyes on Kenshin. "May I assume that you are interested, Captain Himura?"   
  
Kenshin nodded dumbly and allowed his hand to drop from his sword hilt.   
  
"Toshi, must you interrupt our nice visit with work?" Madame Hamaguchi asked crossly. "Kaoru is no doubt on her ship, sailing off to do something I don't want to know about. And if she left this young man without an explanation, I'm sure she had a reason."   
  
"Actually, Maiko, according to Lieutenant Okita here, your Kaoru has gone off to fight against better armed and decidedly more ruthless pirates."   
  
Admiral Hijikata gestured for Lieutenant Okita to step forward and explain over Maiko's startled gasp.

The young man glanced sympathetically at both Maiko's pale, worried face and Kenshin's drawn one before opening his mouth to speak.   
  
"We've been following the movements of Admiral Serizawa for some time now. For the past few months, there has been excessive activity in the vicinity of one of his warehouses in the southern district. Early this morning, Captain Kamiya's ship, The Kami Kaze, anchored just off the south-side docks and several of her men were spotted heading in the direction of the Admiral's warehouse." Okita paused and glanced over at Admiral Hijiakata, who nodded and indicated for him to continue. "The pirate Niimi and his crew have been coming in and out of the warehouse as long as we've been monitoring it and they were there as of last night."   
  
"In other words, she's heading into a trap." Admiral Hijikata finished. "Or already has, for all we know."   
  
Kenshin was already half-way out of the room before the Admiral stopped him. "Captain Himura, are you going to that warehouse?"   
  
Kenshin didn't turn around, but nodded.   
  
"You are in danger of a court martial, Captain." Admiral Hijikata intoned. "I won't bend the rules, even if I don't necessarily disagree with what you're about to do. To go there without a direct order from your superiors, with the intent of aiding a known pirate gang, goes against the laws you were charged with upholding."   
  
Kenshin's shoulders tensed and he slowly turned around. "You can't court martial me if I'm no longer in the Navy." He said quietly.   
  
"That is true." Admiral Hijikata agreed. "I have no legal power over civilians."   
  
"Then please accept my official resignation from my post, Admiral Hijikata." Kenshin replied, facing the Admiral with determination.   
  
"You are resigning your post? You no longer wish to be a Captain?" The Admiral asked, eyebrows raised in surprise. "You were perhaps a year or so away from being promoted to Commodore. Are you sure you want give all that up for a woman?"   
  
"I am." Kenshin murmured. "For her, I would."   
  
Admiral Hijikata stared at Kenshin for a long moment, taking his measure before he cleared his throat and replied. "Well then, Mister Himura, I accept your resignation and wish you luck." When Kenshin didn't move, he frowned slightly. "You probably don't have a lot of time, sir. I'd recommend leaving immediately."   
  
"Thank you, Admiral." Kenshin said with a bow of his head. "For everything."   
  
Admiral Hijikata waved him off. "Don't be so grateful yet. I will be sending men out to the warehouse soon, if you are found there with the other pirates, you will be arrested. You have a small head start; I would take advantage of it."   
  
Kenshin nodded and swiftly left the room.   
  
Sighing in irritation, Admiral Hijikata stalked over to Maiko's chintz couch and slumped down onto it, his frown deepening. "I just lost an exceptionally dedicated and honest man to a pirate, and it wasn't even in battle." He groused. He glanced over at Maiko. "She must be quite a woman, this Kaoru Kamiya."   
  
Maiko's smile was tinged with worry. "She is."   
  
Admiral Hijikata grunted in annoyance and turned his attention to Lieutenant Okita.   
  
"Go to the garrison and get some men to accompany you to the warehouse. Arrest anyone you find there and hold them. Tell Saitou to deal with the prisoners. And make it clear to him that I want some information from them. Last time he killed them all before he learned anything useful. I'd like some more evidence against the Admiral so that I can justify his assassination to the others. Kondou and Yamanami are giving me problems."   
  
"What about Captain…I mean, Mister Himura? Do you really want Saitou to deal with him, too?" Okita asked with a frown.   
  
"If he's still there when the troops arrive then he deserves to get caught. I gave him a warning and that's all I'm going to do." Admiral Hijikata replied gruffly. "Now go."   
  
Okita nodded and left without further comment.   
  
"Will she be all right, Toshi? I promised Hanae that I would keep her safe." Maiko murmured, her hands clenched tightly in her lap, her knuckles white.

"Even if Himura fails, Okita and the others won't." Admiral Hijikata muttered, running a hand through his dark hair.

"I can't help but think that this whole mess is entirely my fault. If I hadn't introduced you to poor Katsu…" She bit her lip and looked down at the floor. "Oh, Hanae and Tetsu must be so disappointed in me! I promised…"

"Maiko, listen to me. You did the right thing. Tsukioika wants to see Serizawa go down just as much as I do…and you." The Admiral rose from his seat and went to stand by Maiko, resting a hand awkwardly on her shoulder. "Don't forget that it was Serizawa who sent your husband to an early grave, Maiko."

She shuddered. "I haven't forgotten, Toshi. That's why I introduced you to Katsu. But I didn't mean to put him in danger, he was like a son to Tetsu and to Kaoru, he's a brother. I wanted to see Serizawa suffer, but if I've put Katsu and Kaoru into danger..." She looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears. "I'll never forgive myself if anything happens."

Admiral Hijikata squeezed Maiko's shoulder. "Don't worry, Maiko. Niimi is strong, but so is Kamiya and so is Himura."

"I hope you're right, Toshi." Maiko replied quietly. "I sincerely do."

* * *

A/N: Eh? What? And welcome to my lame attempt at a plot. .:re-reads chapter:. Well, it makes sense to me, anyway.   
I just got out of school a few weeks ago and now I'm back in class! Summer courses! NOOOO!!! ARGHH!! When will it end? Next August, actually. Until then...papers and lectures and coursework, oh my!  
  
Thank you guys for being patient. I only got...hmm...let me count...3 death threats. I'm also working on my Rurouni Kenshin Elections 2004! Which is a continuation of my Elections 2000! fic, which you can find here on ff.net if you click on my pen name. Reader participation is very important and I'd love to hear from you at my RK elections forum. The address for that page is on my profile page. Go and tell me what you think! And thanks for sticking with me thus far!  
  
-Gem 


	11. Dire Straits

**Letter of Marque**  
_Sequel to Between the Devil and the Deep_  
A Rurouni Kenshin AU Fic  
by Gemini  
  
**Rated R**: For cursing and other naughty things  
  
**Disclaimer:** This Rurouni Kenshin franchise is owned and operated by Earl "Nobuhiro" Watsuki,  
Tim "Shonen" Jump and "Sony" Jones. There are also a few silent partners I can't recall.  
  
**The events in this story take place one year after the end of 'Between the Devil and the Deep'**

******  
** So, last time...

******…snipped from Chapter 10…**

It took Kaoru a long while to find her men once she arrived at the docks an hour later, but she finally located them, hiding in the shadows of a dilapidated warehouse that stood a stone's throw away from Admiral Serizawa's equally decrepit building. Aoshi and Sano were there, along with Chou, Soujiro, Hannya, Shikijo and Beshimi. Her best fighters; all of them, especially Chou, were armed to the teeth. Then again, Chou was always armed to the teeth.   
  
She slipped into the alleyway and greeted them warmly, almost as though there was nothing out of the ordinary going on, as though they weren't heavily armed and about to take on a dangerous enemy. Sano waited until she was within reach, then grabbed her arm and steered her away from the others, ignoring their curious looks.   
  
"Did everything go okay?" He whispered, clearly concerned for her.   
  
"Fine." She replied lightly. "All taken care of." She pulled her arm from his grip and turned to her men. "Are all of you ready?"   
  
They nodded silently.   
  
"Good. I have no idea what we're going to find in there. Maybe nothing, maybe Niimi's entire crew, I don't know. But Katsu might be in there and we're going to save his stupid ass even if it kills us." Kaoru checked her two pistols to make sure they were loaded and gave her sword a pat. "Let's go.

...end of snip...now on to the next chapter...

* * *

******Chapter 11: Dire Straits**

* * *

"Okay, Sano, why don't you knock on the door and see if anyone's home?" Kaoru said, keeping her tone light as she pulled one of her pistols out of her belt and cocked the hammer. Her hands and voice were steady; if she was nervous or afraid, it was not obvious, even to her crew who knew her best.

At her command, Sano marched up to the door and with an extremely powerful kick, knocked it right off the hinges with a deafening crash. Dust and bits of the door rained down onto the ground just inside the doorway, light seeped into the darkened space illuminating it just enough to see the dark outlines of crates and other warehouse odds and ends.

"Subtle." Kaoru said with a roll of her bright blue eyes. As was her right as Captain, she was determined to go in first, although Sano was reluctant to allow it, much to her irritation. She pushed past him with a warning scowl and, with her gun in front of her, carefully stepped into the cavernous and musty smelling old building. "Anyone home?"

"Welcome Keiko, or should I say Kaoru?" A voice she knew very well boomed out of the darkness, catching her by surprise. She hated to be caught by surprise.

Kaoru cursed under her breath and waved her crew members in behind her with her free hand, her gun still held steady in the other. "Admiral, I hardly expected to find you here, you didn't seem like the type to get your hands dirty."

The Admiral stepped into the weak light cast by the open door, pushing a half-unconscious and bloody Katsu in front of him. The moment the Admiral let go of Katsu's arm, the younger man slumped to the ground, unable to stand up on his own.

Kaoru instinctively took a step forward to help her old friend, but the Admiral shook his head. "Don't, Captain Kamiya. We need to talk, you see." He paused and looked behind her at her men. "But first, I think I should even out the odds a bit." He waved his hand lazily, cuing the men who had been waiting for the command to emerge.

Figures stepped out of the shadows: the Admiral's pirate henchmen, the men who called Niimi captain. The pirate captain himself, looking like the fop he was rumored to be in a dark sapphire blue velvet coat, lacy white shirt and embroidered black breeches, took his place beside the Admiral, a smile on his face that no one would ever believe to be friendly.

"Niimi." Kaoru murmured, her face impassive. "I have to admit that I was quite surprised when I discovered that you had stooped to being the Admiral's dog."

Niimi spat at Kaoru's feet, shattering his carefully maintained façade of a gentleman. "The Admiral pays well, that's all." He growled, his smile vanishing at her accusation.

The Admiral waved the foppish pirate off and drew Kaoru's attention back to the matter at hand. "Now, Kaoru, there is a reason for me being here. I could have left you in the hands of Niimi here, but I really don't trust him to get the information I need. So, let's get this out of the way. What do you know?" The Admiral kicked aside Katsu and stepped closer to Kaoru, his eyes flat and hard.

Katsu moaned, curling up into a ball of pain, a line of blood trickling down his chin and dribbling onto the hard packed dirt floor.

Kaoru fought the urge to shoot the Admiral in the head, all his little armed henchmen be damned. She swallowed and got her anger under control instead. "Know what?" she asked, feigning innocence.

"About me, you stupid whore. What do you know and who have you told?" The Admiral spat.

Kaoru raised an eyebrow at his insult. Behind her, a threatening murmur ran through her men. They didn't take kindly to people talking badly about their captain, especially a man like the Admiral.

"You mean about you and all your little illegal activities? Well, I know a lot, actually. And so do a lot of people." Kaoru said smugly, her relaxed attitude indicating to her crew that she wasn't offended. The murmurs died down.

The Admiral's face paled. "Who?" He roared, stepping closer to her, ignoring the danger of being within her reach. "Who knows?"

Kaoru smiled. "Why don't I just let you find out?"

He reached out and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, hauling her up to his face. "Tell me, you bitch!" He snarled.

"Not a good idea, Admiral." Niimi said, sounding slightly amused, his warning punctuated by the sound of swords being unsheathed and guns cocked.

Admiral Serizawa looked down at Kaoru only to find her gun wedged up under his chin. "I would agree with Niimi on that, Admiral." she murmured.

He let her go and stepped back a few paces, smoothing out his uniform with a shaking hand. "Well, perhaps we can come to some sort of arrangement, Captain Kamiya." he said nervously, eyeing her men who all had guns and swords pointed in his direction.

"Perhaps." She knelt down next to Katsu and placed her hand on his shoulder, gently whispering him to relax so she could examine his injuries in the weak light. He was bloody and beaten almost beyond recognition. She didn't even want to imagine what sort of internal injuries he had. She needed to get him to Megumi as soon as possible. "Katsu, you idiot, are you okay?" She whispered.

He let out a hoarse, dry chuckle. "No."

She smiled and laid a hand on his forehead. "We'll get you to Megumi, Katsu, so hold on."

"I don't think I'll be going anywhere, Kaoru." He managed weakly.

Kaoru stood up and faced Admiral Serizawa with grim determination. "I think that we'll be taking Katsu with us now, Admiral."

"No, I can't let you." The Admiral had regained his composure. "All of you know too much. If you won't tell me who else you have told, then I'll just have to figure it out on my own, starting with your friend Maiko Hamaguchi." He gestured for Niimi to come forward. "Kill them all and you'll get twice your normal fee."

Niimi grinned, his dark eyes shining. "Aye, sir!" he said with a laugh.

Kaoru gritted her teeth and aimed her pistol at the Admiral. "You'll be the first to die, you bastard."

Niimi pointed his gun at Kaoru. Kaoru's men pointed their guns at Niimi's men. It was a stand-off. Admiral Serizawa reached down and hauled Katsu to his feet, ignoring the man's pained cry.

"Will you shoot the man you came to rescue, Kamiya?" He held Katsu in front of him and began to step backwards, edging towards another exit.

"Dammit." Kaoru ground her teeth, her mind running through a thousand different plans, hoping a way out of this situation would occur to her. Niimi had at least two dozen men in the warehouse, compared to her seven. Eight, if she included herself. If there ever was a near impossible situation, this would be it. Then again, she and her men specialized in near impossible situations.

"Sano," She growled low under her breath. "Do you remember when we went after Megumi?"

"Yeah." He growled back, understanding in his voice as he made a few subtle gestures to the other men.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm going."

"Good luck." Sano murmured, catching Aoshi's eye and nodding slightly.

Aoshi fired first, aiming for Niimi and not a second later, the sound of gunshots echoed in the nearly empty warehouse.

A bullet impacted on the hard packed dirt where Karou had been standing, but she had started moving the moment Sano had gotten Aoshi's attention. Before anyone could react, she was out of sight, moving between wooden crates, following the Admiral, who was beating a hasty retreat towards a rear door, Katsu acting as a human shield.

"Oh no you don't." She muttered, ducking behind an empty crate, barely dodging a well-aimed bullet. She had to catch the Admiral before he decided Katsu's usefulness had ended.  
  
She followed the Admiral, staying out of sight until he disappeared through a door into an alley that ran behind the warehouse. Kaoru made a mad dash for the door, managing to avoid catching anyone's attention, grateful that her men were keeping Niimi's boys occupied. She kicked open the door and was immediately blinded by the bright morning sun. She moved to shield her eyes so that she could see properly again, but it was too late.

The click of a gun hammer alerted her to the fact that she was no longer the hunter in this little game. The Admiral had used her momentary blindness to his advantage and pressed the barrel of his gun roughly into the side of her head. Katsu was lying on the ground near her feet, discarded like trash now that the Admiral had no further use for him; after all, he had a new hostage now, a better one.

Kaoru closed her eyes, a litany of curses going through her mind. She hated being the damned damsel in distress.

* * *

**A/N: **Well, this chapter is actually much longer, but I decided to cut it in half. If I had waited to post the entire thing, then who knows when it would be done. I'm stuck on something right now. I've been stuck on it for a while, so...grr. But I didn't want to keep you guys waiting too long, so here you go, and a cliffhanger to boot.   
  
Here's a snippet from the next chapter...I'll probably end up changing it a bit more before I'm done, I always do. Hell, I make changes even as I'm posting. **  
  
Snip from chapter 12...  
"Toss your gun over by that puddle." The Admiral snarled, pressing the gun harder into her head. He indicated a dirty brown puddle a few feet away from them both. **

Cursing her stupidity, Kaoru complied, her gun splashing into the foul water.

"And your other one. The sword, too."

Her hands trembled slightly as she removed her other two weapons and tossed them away.

He moved close to her, his hot breath stirring her hair. "We never got a chance to finish our little meeting, you know." He ran a finger down her neck and over her bound breasts.

"I might be willing to be…lenient in my punishment if you cooperate. Maybe we could even work out some sort of deal."

She wanted to hurt this man very, very badly. She still had her hunting knife securely tucked into one of her boots, but she didn't think there was any way she could get to it without getting shot.

Kaoru forced herself to take a deep breath and calm down. Her mind was going in too many directions and she couldn't think straight.

"So tell me Captain, what's it going to be?" Admiral Serizawa asked, still pressed too close to her for comfort.

End of snip.  
  
So what is it going to be, indeed? And where's Kenshin, damn it? ********


	12. More Promises

Letter of Marque  
Sequel to Between the Devil and the Deep  
A Rurouni Kenshin AU Fic  
by Gemini  
  
Rated R: For cursing and other naughty things  
  
Disclaimer: This Rurouni Kenshin franchise is owned and operated by Earl "Nobuhiro" Watsuki, Tim "Shonen" Jump and "Sony" Jones. There are also a few silent partners I can't recall.  
  
The events in this story take place one year after the end of 'Between the Devil and the Deep'

* * *

Chapter 12: Promises

* * *

"Toss your gun over by that puddle." The Admiral snarled, pressing the gun harder into the side of her head. He indicated a dirty brown puddle a few feet away from them both with his free hand and a jerk of his head in its general direction.

Cursing her stupidity, the Admiral's venality and the whole damned situation, Kaoru reluctantly complied, her gun splashing into the foul water.

"And your other one. The sword, too." Clearly the Admiral didn't trust her, and rightly so, since she would hurt him badly at the first opportunity.

Her hands trembled slightly, betraying her current state of mind as she threw away any hope of escaping along with her two weapons.

She was distracted from her dark mood when Admiral Serizawa moved closer to her, his hot breath stirring her hair. When Kenshin had done something similar, it had been erotic, but the Admiral's foul smelling breath was only serving to turn her stomach and stoke her anger. She hated being touched without her permission.

"We never got a chance to finish our little meeting, you know. You had to go and drug me before things got interesting." The Admiral paused thoughtfully. "I wonder, Kaoru, how far would you have gone to get what you wanted?" He ran a finger down her neck and over her bound breasts. She shuddered in revulsion, which he mistook as a friendlier response to his touch. "How far would you go now to save your friend and your crew? Hmm? If you're nice to me, I might be willing to be lenient."

Kaoru wanted to hurt this man very, very badly. As far as weapons went, there was still the hunting knife securely tucked into her right boot where she always kept it, but she didn't think there was any way she could get to it without getting shot.

"So tell me Kaoru, what could you do for me?" Admiral Serizawa asked huskily, pressing himself up against her in a thoroughly obscene manner. Her hands twitched and she had to force herself to keep calm and not make any sudden movements, like say, punching him in the face as hard as she could.

Inside the warehouse, the sounds of gunfire had stopped, meaning that her men had taken care of all the gunmen and were now fighting with swords. She heard the clang of steel and many different voices, some screaming in anger, some in pain, a few in fear. She heard Sano yell something and the tone in his voice frightened her. Someone in her team had been injured, perhaps killed. She needed to be in there, with her men, but first there was the sticky problem of extracting herself from the Admiral without being shot.

Quite unexpectedly, Kaoru was spared having to come up with a plan on the fly by the unlikeliest of people. As she was pondering a way to answer the Admiral's odious proposition, she felt the light touch of deft fingers slipping into her right boot, where her knife was. Katsu was trying to work the blade free of her boot and she had to keep the Admiral's attention so he wouldn't notice the movement. She steeled herself and slid her eyes over to the Admiral, willing her expression from one of revulsion to one of coy thoughtfulness. "Perhaps we can come to some sort of agreement, Admiral Serizawa. I am, after all, woman who appreciates a good business proposition."

She tilted her head slightly so that she could get a better look at him. "What did you have in mind? An arrangement like you have with Niimi? A hefty share of plunder in exchange for protection and access to ports?"

"Among other things." He replied with a leer.

She raised an eyebrow and fought her natural inclination to castrate him with her bare hands, opting instead to look mildly interested. "Other things? Not anything you've asked Niimi to do, I suppose."

The Admiral let out a hoarse chuckle. "No, definitely nothing I've asked Niimi to do."

She felt Katsu slide the blade free and tensed, waiting for him to make his move.

Admiral Serizawa opened his mouth to continue with his comment but instead of some saucy bon mot, he let out a yell of pain as Katsu sunk Kaoru's knife through his boot and into his Achilles tendon. His arm jerked reflexively and his finger pulled the trigger of the gun he was aiming, now crookedly, at Kaoru's head.

Pain ripped through Kaoru and she hit the ground, cradling her head. The gun had been at an awkward angle and the bullet had only grazed her temple. Still, it hurt like hell and bled copiously.

"Shit, Kaoru! Are you all right? I'm sorry…" Katsu managed to prop himself up against the wall and reached out to grasp her shoulder.

"I think I'll live, but damn it, Katsu, that fucking hurt!" She hissed, pressing the palm of her hand against the wound to staunch the bleeding. Her other hand groped along the ground until it found one of her pistols lying near the puddle, which she grabbed and then pointed at the Admiral, who was thrashing around, howling in pain as he pulled the knife from his foot.

Still aiming her gun at the Admiral, Kaoru slowly rose to her feet.

"Get up." She ordered, grabbing his arm with her bloody hand and hauling him to his feet, not feeling the least bit sympathetic to his protestations of pain.

"What are you going to do? Ransom me off to Niimi?" Admiral Serizawa managed to gasp a moment later as she pressed the gun angrily into his back.

Kaoru snorted. "Niimi wouldn't pay a brass farthing for your ass, Admiral. I'm just going to go check on my men."

"Hey, what about me?" Katsu groused from his position up against the wall.

She looked down at him offered him her free hand. "Come on, moron."

Katsu made a face at her but readily took her hand, hoisting himself up with less noise and complaints than the Admiral. He leaned against his friend, accepting her support as the two marched the Admiral back into the warehouse at gunpoint.

Shikijo, Beshimi and Hannya were still busy fighting the remnants of Niimi's men, Aoshi and Soujiro were nowhere to be found and Chou was lying prone on the ground, a pale-faced and bloody Sano hovering over him, attempting to staunch the bleeding of a rather nasty looking sword slash on Chou's chest with the ragged remnants of his shirt.

Sano looked up as the three approached and his face was disturbingly grim. "We've got to get him to Megumi." He said hoarsely.

Kaoru nodded, her face drained of all color. "Where are Aoshi and Soujiro?" she managed.

Sano's expression became even grimmer, if that was possible. "Niimi and Kanryuu escaped, they went after them."

The sound of her other men fighting suddenly infuriated her. They didn't have time to play around! Kaoru kicked the Admiral down onto the ground, pointed her gun at the nearest of Niimi's men, and shot the sword out of his hand. "Hurry up and take care of them, you three! We've got to get out of here!" She barked. Shikijo, Hannya and Beshimi exchanged nervous glances and doubled their efforts.

Kaoru turned back to Sano and Chou and eyed the injured man critically. "Chou? Can you walk?" she asked in a gentler tone than the one she had just been using with her other crewmembers.

"Of course I fucking can." Chou replied haughtily, trying not to appear weak, even though he was as white as a sheet and barely  
able to sit up.

She rolled her eyes, ignoring his protest at the action. "Sano, help Chou up and take him to the longboats. Send whoever is waiting there to help with Katsu and then I want you to figure out where the hell Aoshi and Soujiro are."

"What about you?" Sano asked suspiciously.

"I'm going to have a little chat with the Admiral." She said darkly.

Kaoru helped Katsu lean against the wall before turning to the Admiral, who had found himself a crate to lean against.

"You and I need to talk." She stalked towards him, pausing only briefly to divest a corpse of its weapon since one of her guns was spent and the other one, along with her sword, was currently lying in a muddy puddle in the alley.

Admiral Serizawa lifted his chin haughtily and glared down at the tiny, enraged woman standing before him. "I do not have to answer to the likes of you, Kamiya." He sneered.

"I answer to a higher authority."

Her expression went from dark to thoughtful. "Why, Admiral, you're right. How about I send you to that authority?" She jammed her purloined gun under his chin and thrust upwards, choking off his response. "But first, a little justice."

Kaoru turned her attention back to Katsu with a little smile. "Tell me, brother, what exactly did the Admiral do to you? Did he punch you? Kick you?"

A slow, lazy smile blossomed on the injured man's bruised and battered face. Justice, at last. "A little of both, actually. There was also some nasty business with a wooden club and a brad awl."

"Oh? Well, I'll tell you what, why don't I start kicking and punching him and you can tell me when to stop."

"Sounds fair to me." Katsu replied cheerfully.

The Admiral whimpered. In all his pampered life, he had rarely personally engaged in any kind of battle, especially one involving fists.

Kaoru tucked her stolen gun into the waist of her pants and promptly punched the Admiral in the face. He went down like a sack of potatoes, to no one's surprise.

Although Kaoru was small and _looked_ delicate, in fact she was not. Growing up on a pirate ship, she had spent years fighting with guns, swords and fists. A punch from her could be just as painful as one from Sano, although less likely to leave permanent damage.

"How's that, Katsu?" She asked, rolling up the sleeves of her shirt.

"A fine start, little sister."

She grinned and aimed a rather devastating kick to the man's midsection, delighting in the sound of the air being forced from his lungs in a strangled gasp. He had kidnapped and badly injured a man she considered to be her brother, had propositioned and _touched_ her without her permission and was an utterly contemptible human being to boot, so she felt rather justified in doing as much damage to him as possible.

Kaoru reached down and hauled the Admiral to his feet, ignoring his whimpering pleas for mercy and punched him again in the face, watching him fly back into the wall and slide down to the ground in a heap with satisfaction. She pulled her gun out again, but held it by the muzzle, slapping the grip across the Admiral's ruined face.

She was gearing up to do it again when a hand reached out and grabbed the gun from her.

"Stop it, Kaoru."

She went utterly still at the sound of Kenshin's voice, all of her rage draining out of her like water. "How did you find me?" she asked quietly.

"I have my ways." Kenshin replied evenly, tossing the gun away. "I thought I was coming here to save _you_, but I should have known you wouldn't need my help."

"Captain Himura, thank god! Arrest this woman! She's a pirate!" The Admiral missed the obvious intimacy between the two people standing in front of him, which wasn't surprising considering he could barely open his eyes.

"I'm afraid not, Admiral." Kenshin eyed the Admiral's injuries and made a mental note never to get on Kaoru's bad side.

"What do you mean, you imbecile! As your ranking officer I ORDER you to arrest her!" Admiral Serizawa snapped.

"You are not, in fact, my ranking officer, Admiral, not as of this morning." Kenshin replied with a small frown.

"What are you talking about?" Kaoru and the Admiral asked at the same time.

"I met with Admiral Hijikata this morning and resigned my post. I am no longer an officer of the Navy." Kenshin took Kaoru's hands and squeezed them.

She snatched her hands away, blood rising in her face. "You did _what?_" She hissed.

Of all the reactions he had been expecting, anger was not one of them. Bewildered, Kenshin repeated what he had just said, hoping for a better response the second time around.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Kaoru punched the wall beside the Admiral in anger, ignoring the blood that flowed from her scratched knuckles and the whimper of the injured man. "You have to find Admiral Hijikata and tell him you made a mistake, Kenshin! You have to get your post back!"

"What? But I gave it up for you!" Kenshin was clearly confused; he took a step towards her, but retreated when she put her bloody hand up to stop him.

"I didn't ask you to! I NEVER asked you to do that! I wouldn't!" She dropped her hand and sighed. "Don't you see? You'll hate me."

"Kaoru, what are you talking about?" Kenshin asked gently, hoping the situation could be salvaged.

"You'll start to resent me, Kenshin. You gave up your career, your life for me, but what if I can't be what you want? What if you regret the decision? What if we end up like my parents?" She shook her head, tears pooling in her eyes. "My mother…she loved my father, but when he went on account, she had to give up everything to be with him and it ate at her. She had to leave behind her friends, her family, her home…and she began to resent my father for dragging her off. They fought a lot and she spent a lot of time crying. Neither of them were happy and when she died…she was so bitter…"

"That won't happen to us, Kaoru, I promise." Kenshin murmured, taking a tentative step forward and reaching for her.

"How do you know?" She asked, allowing him to take her into his arms.

"Because it's my choice to be with you, my choice." Kenshin replied, smoothing her hair and dropping a small kiss on her forehead. He frowned slightly at the sight of the gunshot wound on her temple, but was more concerned with comforting her than worrying about that since it seemed to be a simple flesh wound.

She wrapped her arms around him and sighed, resting her forehead against his shoulder.

Admiral Serizawa opened his mouth to say something rude, but Katsu kicked him hard enough to knock him over, silencing him so that the moment wouldn't be ruined.

"Kenshin, let's make a deal." Kaoru murmured into his shoulder.

"A deal? What kind of deal?" He pulled away so he could look at her.

"Obviously you can't leave with me now," she put her hand to his mouth to silence his immediate protest, "you can't. There's Yahiko and your house and all your property, you simply can't disappear right now, so allow me to propose something. Will you listen?"

He nodded and she removed her hand from his mouth.

"It's coming on winter and my men and I will be spending it somewhere warm where we can recover. As for you, I want you to think about this, and if this is really what you want, then in the spring come find me." She leaned up into him and smiled, just the barest twitch of her lips. "I promise you Kenshin Himura, if you decide to board my ship and take your place beside me, then it'll be for keeps."

* * *

A/N: Ahahahaaaa! Two chapters in two days! (Or thereabouts) Holy cow. Anyway, I told you I would make a lot of changes before I posted this chapter. If you read the Ch. 12 snippet at the end of Ch. 11 and then re-read the beginning of this chapter, you'll see it changed, a lot. I always add things as I edit, it's just the way I do things around here. So, let's see here, in this chapter we had BUTT KICKING, girl power and romance. Yup, yup, I'm spent.   
  
Only a few chapters left, we need to find Aoshi and tie up some loose ends. And then, the Vingnettes Series begins! Basically, what I'm going to be doing is posting little stories about the lives of these characters, how they met, life as a pirate, etc. Little one shots covering Kaoru, Sano, Kenshin, Aoshi, etc. They will mostly take place before 'Between the Devil and the Deep', although there might be a few set between BTDATD and LOM, and maybe one after. Who knows? I just have all these stories in my head that I have to get out. Out, damn story! Let me sleep!   
  
Thanks for all your support (and death threats-great motivation, though scary) I really appreciate it!  
  



	13. Revenge

Letter of Marque  
Sequel to Between the Devil and the Deep  
A Rurouni Kenshin AU Fic  
by Gemini  
  
Rated R: For cursing and other naughty things  
  
Disclaimer: This Rurouni Kenshin franchise is owned and operated by Earl "Nobuhiro" Watsuki,  
Tim "Shonen" Jump and "Sony" Jones. There are also a few silent partners I can't recall.  
  
The events in this story take place one year after the end of 'Between the Devil and the Deep'

* * *

Chapter 13: Revenge

* * *

Soujiro skidded around the corner of the warehouse, breathing hard. Ahead of him, he heard the sound of Aoshi's voice, calling out to Niimi and Kanryuu, promising pain and death. He cursed and pushed himself to run faster, he had to get to Aoshi before something bad happened. The navigator was good with a blade, everyone on the Kami Kaze was, but he was no match for two armed pirates who would have no compulsion to play fair when cornered.   
  
From the general direction he was going, Soujiro guessed that Niimi and Kanryuu were heading to their ship for reinforcements. He suddenly wished that he had told someone where he was going before running off after his crewmate. If the two pirates made it back to their ship, he and Aoshi would be screwed.   
  
As if to confirm the grim turn his thoughts had taken, he heard the sound of a gunshot. Soujiro cursed, worried since he knew Aoshi didn't have a gun. The navigator had dropped it in the melee, which meant that either Niimi or Kanryuu had decided to waylay their pursuer.   
  
Soujiro ran faster, careening around yet another building and into a dank alleyway. He heard yelling and the rhythmic thudding of feet rushing away from him. He prayed that he wasn't too late. He let out a gasping breath of relief when the sound of his crewmate cursing loudly reached his ears, and ran towards the voice. His crewmate came in to view seconds later, prompting another relieved gasp. "Aoshi!" Soujiro called out, skidding to a halt beside his friend. He took a moment to catch his wind before speaking up again. "What…?"  
  
Grimacing, Aoshi waved him off and rose to his feet, his right hand holding tight onto his left shoulder, which was bleeding sluggishly. "They ran like fucking cowards to their ship." He growled angrily.   
  
"Maybe we should take this as a sign and get back to the others." Soujiro said while nervously looking around, hoping that Niimi and Kanryuu weren't already on their way back with reinforcements. "We can take on a dozen armed men, not a hundred."   
  
"I can't let them go, Soujiro. I can't."  
  
"Aoshi, now isn't the right time. They got away, but Kaoru promised you vengeance and she's never let any of us down before." Soujiro put his hand on Aoshi's good shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. "Now come on, let's get the hell out of here, Misao's waiting for you back on the ship."   
  
Aoshi's shoulders slumped. He took one last look in the direction where the two pirates had disappeared before allowing Soujiro to steer him back towards the warehouse.   
  
They ran into Sano halfway there. He was pale, covered with blood and looked worried. "Chou's been badly hurt, we gotta get back to the ship." He said gruffly, eyeing Aoshi's arm. "And you look like you need Megumi, too."   
  
Aoshi nodded stiffly, still angry that he had been denied his vengeance.   
  
Sano glanced at Soujiro who shook his head slightly, ending any potential questions before they could be asked. With nothing left to say, the three of them walked silently back to the docks.   
  
The rest of the crew was waiting by the long boats, watching over Chou, who was cursing loudly. "Where's the Captain?" Soujiro asked as Aoshi boarded the boat and gingerly sat as far away from Chou as he could without jumping into the water.   
  
"She's inside, with Captain Himura." Sano said with a small smirk.   
  
Soujiro raised his eyebrows and glanced over at the doorway of the warehouse. "What about the Admiral? And Katsu?"   
  
"She's taking care of it."

* * *

Kenshin grabbed Kaoru's hand and kissed it, his eyes alight with happiness. "I'll find you, Kaoru, I promise."   
  
She grinned and pulled her hand away, a slight flush spilling over her face. "Well then that's settled."   
  
"This is very romantic, really, but what about this asshole?" Katsu asked, getting their attention as he gave the Admiral a swift kick in the ribs with his good leg. The Admiral grunted in pain.   
  
"Thanks for reminding me, Katsu. Now where's my gun?" Kaoru replied, looking around Kenshin to where he had thrown her gun earlier.   
  
"Don't kill him, Kaoru." Kenshin said quietly.   
  
"He deserves it." She murmured darkly, her eyes flashing with anger.   
  
"I agree completely." Kenshin glanced down at the prostrate man. "Admiral Hijikata has plans for him, plans that probably involve Captain Saitou. I personally think that whatever Saitou has in store for the Admiral is much worse than death, don't you?"   
  
Kaoru's eyes widened in surprise briefly, but then that expression vanished and was replaced by one of amused satisfaction. "Why, Kenshin, I think you're right."  
  
The Admiral whimpered.   
  
"Captain, I hate to interrupt, but I think we'd better get the fuck out of here." Sano yelled through the doorway. "If Captain Himura could find us, then the Navy can't be too far behind."  
  
Kaoru waved him away and looked down at the Admiral. "Frankly, sir, I have to say, you would have been better off with me since I was only planning on torturing you a little before I killed you. Captain Saitou, however, strikes me as the kind of man who likes to take his time." She knelt down by where the Admiral was slumped and looked him straight in the eye. "If, by the grace of some foolish god you survive your meeting with the Captain, then I might feel motivated to finish this conversation. It all depends on Katsu's good will." She straightened, and then, glanced back down at him for one last parting shot. "Oh, and I wouldn't bother escaping if I were you. I have very good aim and a very short temper, so sit back and await your fate like a good little admiral."   
  
She turned away and smiled genially at her lover. "Kenshin, help me get Katsu to the longboats, would you?"   
  
Kaoru and Kenshin held Katsu up between them, helping the injured man limp quickly to the waiting boats. Sano took him from the two and lowered him next to Chou, who was taking being injured very badly. The moment Katsu was settled, Sano and Shikijo pulled the boat loose from its moorings and began rowing quickly away, taking the injured to Megumi. The other boat, with the rest of Kaoru's men, waited patiently for the captain.   
  
Before Kenshin could say anything, Kaoru grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him into a fast, rough kiss. "Don't say goodbye." She whispered against his lips, before pulling away with a very cat-with-cream smile. "I'll be seeing you, after all."   
  
He smiled back and brushed back a stray bit of hair from her face. "Indeed you will, Kaoru."   
  
She jumped into the longboat and pulled the rope from the dock. "You'd probably better get out of here, too, Kenshin." She said with a grin as her men began rowing away. "It might be difficult to explain your presence since you are just a civilian now."   
  
He raised his hand in acknowledgement and watched her boat as it moved quickly towards where the Kami Kaze lay in wait, at the mouth of the harbor. He watched until he couldn't see her face anymore and then, hearing the yells and general clatter of soldiers on the march towards the warehouse, he slipped away, and was gone when Lieutenant Okita and his men stormed the warehouse and found only dead or wounded pirates and one mewling, sniveling soon to be-former admiral raving about conspiracies, pirates and duplicitous Navy captains.

* * *

A/N: Short chapter, but the story is not over! There's one more chapter and then...happy sigh  
Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed everything thus far. You know, I've never asked before, but I'm working on setting up  
a little sub-site just for BTDATD and LOM, and I'd love to get some fan art for the page. ChiisaiLammy sent me a wonderful  
illustration of the party scene at the beginning of LOM (you can see it at my fanfiction page) and I would really like to get more.  
Mostly because it makes me happy. Thanks for your support and your nice reviews!  
  
Happy 4th of July for you Americans out there! For everyone else, um, have a nice weekend!  
  



	14. The end is the beginning is the end

**Letter of Marque**  
_Sequel to Between the Devil and the Deep_  
A Rurouni Kenshin AU Fic  
by Gemini  
  
**Rated R**: For cursing and other naughty things  
  
**Disclaimer:** This Rurouni Kenshin franchise is owned and operated by Earl "Nobuhiro" Watsuki,  
Tim "Shonen" Jump and "Sony" Jones. There are also a few silent partners I can't recall.

**Chapter 14:** The end is the beginning is the end.

The skies over the tiny island were a leaden gray color, heavy with dark, foreboding clouds. A sharp wind blew in off the sea, rattling windows and absconding with roof tiles. More than one elderly weather forecaster predicted horrible storms in the near future, all of them citing inflamed joints, arthritic knees and other such maladies as proof. And when the storm did finally hit after several days of false alarms, it seemed to all and sundry that they had been right.   
  
However, scarcely a day into its meteorological temper tantrum, the storm that had started out fierce and strong failed to follow up on its initial promise and soon petered out to a weak breath of wind and few drops of rain. The old men who had been forecasting doom and gloom were hardly discouraged by their errors. Instead, they nodded sagely to one another and proclaimed that winter was waning, spring was fast approaching, and they had known it all along.  
  
Kaoru loved the time just after a storm, when everything was washed clean and the world seemed fresh and new. She wandered barefoot on the small beach that fronted her winter cottage, happily squeezing mud between her toes and looking more like a carefree young girl than an infamous pirate captain in her loose fitting linen dress and carelessly braided hair. She hummed some nameless tune under her breath as she wandered aimlessly up and down the beach, her eyes fixed on the distant horizon, her mind counting the days until it was safe to sail again.  
  
"You're practically chomping at the bit, Kaoru." She jumped in surprise when Katsu appeared seemingly from nowhere and draped his arm over her shoulders. "Hell, you're starting to make me antsy."   
  
She made a face at him and pushed his arm off her shoulders. "Don't sneak up on me!" She admonished irritably. "And I'm not chomping at the bit. I'm perfectly calm."   
  
Katsu snorted and cuffed her affectionately on the shoulder. "You're not. But hey, at least you're not mooning around, crying and sighing and otherwise acting like a typical annoying lovesick female."  
  
She smacked him in the arm, grinning when he winced and rubbed the sore spot. "Like you would know what a woman in love looks like. There's no woman alive stupid enough to fall for you."  
  
He shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not, but that's not a concern of mine right now. And stop hitting me, I'm still convalescing."  
  
"Quit acting like a baby. Megumi said your ribs and internal injuries have mostly healed. I personally think you're just acting like a sick man so I'll serve you hand and foot."  
  
He affected a wounded expression. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm an injured man."  
  
She rolled her eyes and started walking towards her cottage. "Hardly. Look at you, you're getting fat from just sitting around, eating my food and whining."   
  
He made a rude gesture with his hand before following her back to the house. It was lunch time after all. "You are a terrible hostess and ungrateful to boot!"  
  
She whirled around, her hand still on the door latch. "Ungrateful? How exactly am I ungrateful?" Her eyes were narrowed, daring him to say something stupid.  
  
Katsu was oblivious, as usual. "If I hadn't gotten myself kidnapped, you wouldn't have met up with your precious Kenshin. In fact, if I hadn't pissed off the Admiral, you would be sailing the seas forever a tragic spinster."  
  
"If I thank anyone for bringing us together, it is the fates. As for you getting your stupid ass kidnapped, you almost got Chou killed! And Aoshi barely spoke to anyone for months! Misao is still trying to get him to stop brooding!"  
  
"Aoshi always broods." Katsu shot back, although he did feel slightly guilty for Chou's injury.  
  
"He's been brooding more than usual." She clarified with a glare. "He's nearly driven Misao insane, and it's all your fault, you moron!"  
  
Katsu sighed. "All right, all right. I am a stupid, irresponsible lout with no feelings for anyone but myself. Now can I please have some lunch? I'm starving!"  
  
Kaoru let go of the door latch, marched up to him and poked him hard on a still tender rib. He howled in pain and clutched his side like he had just been stabbed.  
  
"All right, let's go inside and get something to eat." She said, suddenly as sweet as honey. He had paid for his stupidity and she was now satisfied. "After lunch we're going to go meet Sano to see about getting the Kami Kaze ready to sail."  
  
Katsu knew better than to say anything else lest she get it in her head to use more than just one finger on his barely healed ribs. She could be quite vicious when provoked.

Kaoru had shed her simple linen shift for her usual outfit of black pants, plain shirt, vest and sword, signaling to the world that she was ready to once again take her place as captain of the Kami Kaze. With Katsu trailing at her heels, his attention focused on a political tract in his hand, she made the three-mile journey to the small village that lay closest to her cottage. Many of her crewmembers spent their winters in the village; some even had families and homes there.   
  
Her second in command, Sano, lived in a small room above the village's only tavern, perfectly content with his claustrophobic space even though he could easily afford to live in a larger apartment or even a house. He claimed that it was extremely convenient to live above a bar, all he had to do was roll out of bed and within minutes he had all the gambling, alcohol and women he could ever desire. Whether or not this was true was open to debate. Kaoru thought that he was just cheap.  
  
She found him in the tavern playing dice with Chou and Misao. It was clear from her ecstatic expression and the surly ones that adorned the men that Misao was winning. Despite her genteel upbringing and lady-like manners, Misao was an excellent gambler, most were too smart to go up against her when money was at stake, but Sano and Chou were both too stubborn to admit that they could be beaten by a girl and insisted on playing her every chance they got. She beat them almost every time.   
  
"Kaoru!" Upon seeing her friend, Misao scooped up her winnings, stuffed them into a small drawstring purse that hung off one delicate wrist and jumped up to greet her with an enthusiastic hug. "I haven't seen you in two weeks!" Kaoru returned the hug, grinning over her shoulder at her two stubborn crewmembers, who were commiserating over their losses.  
  
After a few fortifying swigs of beer, Sano and Chou both rose and approached her; Kaoru's sharp eyes noted that Chou still moved slow, his chest bandaged in not so clean linen. "When was the last time you saw Megumi?" she asked him, looking meaningfully at his filthy bandages.  
  
He shifted from foot to foot, his expression guilty. "A couple of weeks, I guess."  
  
Kaoru scowled and pointed to the door. "Go over to Dr. Genzai's clinic, I think she's working there today, and have her take a look at you. I refuse to take a sick man aboard my ship." Chou meekly slipped out the door, leaving Kaoru and the others alone in the mostly empty tavern.  
  
Katsu sidled up to the bar and ordered himself a beer, talking politics with the bartender while Kaoru, Sano and Misao seated themselves around a worn but clean table.   
  
"Spring's almost here, I'd like to start getting supplies ready." Kaoru said, producing several sheets of parchment paper from her vest pocket. "Here's the supply list, with a few changes from the previous year. The last I checked, the shipwright was almost done with repairs, so once we lay in all the necessary supplies, we can set sail."  
  
Sano grinned and took the papers from her hand. "Eager to get going, are you?"   
  
Misao giggled and gave Kaoru a sly smile. "Can you blame her, Sano?"  
  
"Both of you shut up." Kaoru growled, her face growing red.  
  
Sano chuckled as he folded the papers and stuck them into his jacket pocket. "Do you want me to start rounding up the crew?"  
  
"You do that, Sano. Now I'm going to go down to the docks and see how the 'Kaze is fairing." She rose gracefully from her seat and glared down at her two friends, who were grinning at her. "Knock it off, you two." She muttered.  
  
The sound of Misao's giggles and Sano's deeper chuckles followed her out the door, which she slammed as hard as she could.  
  
"Lord, she's fun to tease." Sano drawled, still quite amused.  
  
"Kenshin? Are you listening to me?"  
  
Kenshin blinked and looked down at his ward, realizing with some embarrassment that he had been completely ignoring the boy.  
  
"Yahiko, I'm sorry, I was gathering wool. What did you say?"  
  
Yahiko sighed a martyr's sigh and began again. "I asked you if you would teach me how to fight, with a sword. I mean, I'll need one, right?" The boy rubbed his hands together with glee at the thought.   
  
Kenshin frowned. "I don't think so, Yahiko. If there's any fighting, you'll be down in the galley, with Megumi and Hiko. I don't want you getting hurt."  
  
The young boy scowled. "I won't get hurt if you teach me how to defend myself! I don't want to be the only person on a pirate ship who doesn't know how to use a sword!"  
  
"I'm beginning to think that I should leave you with Mrs. Sekihara." Kenshin replied thoughtfully. "A pirate ship really is no place for a boy..."  
  
"You're going to leave me?"   
  
Kenshin's eyebrows shot up at the almost indiscernible thread of vulnerability that wove through the boy's words. Yahiko had already lost his parents...could he really abandon him with Mrs. Sekihara?  
  
With a sigh and a slight shake of his head, Kenshin pulled Yahiko into his arms and gave him a brief, suffocating hug. "No, I don't suppose I will leave you behind, Yahiko. But perhaps Kaoru would be a better teacher than I in regards to swordsmanship, especially the kind of swordsmanship you'll need aboard a pirate ship."  
  
"But...but, she's a girl!" Yahiko pulled away from his adopted father and scowled again. "I mean, I know she's tough, but still..."  
  
"I hardly think that particular handicap will slow her down. She's trained the men aboard the Kami Kaze since her father's death, she can teach you better than I could."  
  
"We'll see." Yahiko said, clearly skeptical. That battle won, he moved on to a different topic. "D'you think she'll accept the Admiral's offer?"  
  
"I don't see why not. It's very generous with its terms, I made sure of that." Kenshin sat down at his large oak desk and stared at the rolled and sealed piece of parchment that held the Admiral's offer to Kaoru. He toyed with it for a moment, a small smile on his face. "I imagine she'll be very surprised, but I think it's an appropriate wedding gift, don't you?"  
  
"I thought girls liked flowers and jewelry and stuff. That's what Mrs. Sekihara said, anyway." Yahiko looked rather dubious.  
  
"Not this girl, Yahiko. She's different." Kenshin's smile grew. "I think she'll like it just fine."  
  
Kaoru hadn't slept well in months, due almost exclusively to the fact that she had been on dry land. She just couldn't sleep on land. There was just something so soothing about being on a ship, letting the sea rock her to sleep each night. She smiled as she stretched out on her bed, listening to the sounds of the ocean slapping against the hull of her ship, the murmur of her crewmembers as they went about their work. Her first good night of sleep since winter began. It didn't hurt that she had been dreaming of Kenshin. Feeling well-rested and generally amiable, she rose and began her morning ritual of washing and dressing. When she was done, she decided to skip breakfast and go up top to see what kind of day she would be having.  
  
"Captain, I was just coming to get you, there's a ship off the starboard bow, coming fast." Soujiro met her at the top of the stairs, a worried frown on his face.  
  
"What kind?" She was still calm. It could be a lot of things: whalers, a merchant ship.  
  
"Imperial Man-of-War." Soujiro replied quietly.  
  
She cursed. Evidently, she would be having a bad day. She grabbed the telescope from his hand and went to the starboard bow to see for herself. The ship was still a smudge on the horizon, but it was gaining fast, and with her telescope, she could clearly see that it was indeed an Imperial Man-of-War, fully rigged out.  
  
"Do you want me to sound an alarm, Captain?" Soujiro hovered nervously at her elbow, ready to jump into action at her command.  
  
She frowned and glared at the oncoming ship. Its cannon doors were closed and there were only a handful of sailors visible on its deck; with the exception of its speed, it didn't appear to be a threat. "Tell the men below to be ready at the cannons, but not to open the doors, we don't want to appear hostile."  
  
Soujiro nodded and disappeared below decks. A few moments after his departure, Sano, looking like he had put away half the ship's rum the night before, appeared at Kaoru's elbow, waiting for her command, his eyes blood-shot and a scowl etched on his haggard face.  
  
She glanced over at him and smirked. Despite the potential severity of their situation, she couldn't help teasing him a little. "Good morning!" She said loudly, her smirk turning to a full-fledged grin as he flinched from the sound.  
  
"You are evil, Kaoru. Evil." Sano muttered, massaging his temples with a martyred expression on his face.  
  
"I know. Did Soujiro fill you in?"  
  
Sano nodded and squinted in the direction of the oncoming ship. "Maybe it's Kenshin?"  
  
"I don't think so, he resigned, remember?" She gnawed thoughtfully on her lower lip. "Besides, even if he begged a favor from a friend, they wouldn't send out an Imperial Man-of-War, it's too expensive for an errand. No, there must be another reason."  
  
"Well, we haven't broken any laws...yet, so I guess we shouldn't worry. Too much, anyway." Sano replied slowly.  
  
Kaoru nodded. "We'll just have to wait it out. We'll keep our guns stowed so we don't provoke them. I'm going to go below to talk to Aoshi. Keep an eye on that ship." She handed Sano the telescope and disappeared below decks.  
  
An hour later, the Imperial Man-of-War was floating placidly next to the Kami Kaze and Kaoru was trying to keep calm. Had they come to arrest her? To bring her a message? To blow the Kami Kaze out of the water?  
  
With the exception of the men who were below decks at the cannons, most of her crew was assembled on deck, armed and very wary. Sano, Soujiro, Chou, Katsu and Aoshi hovered at her elbow, as tense as she was.  
  
"We have a message for Captain Kamiya. Permission to come aboard?" One of the sailors from the Navy ship yelled across to the Kami Kaze.   
  
"What the hell?" Kaoru muttered under her breath. She straightened a bit, arranging her expression into one of arrogance and annoyance. "Sano, grant them permission." She said, but held up a hand to stop him for a moment.  
She turned and looked over her jittery men, eyeing each of them in turn, "No one moves unless I give the order." She said severely, waiting until they all nodded their understanding before allowing Sano to call out to the other ship.  
  
"Soujiro, lower the ladder." She murmured a moment later.  
  
There was a splash as the other ship lowered one of its longboats into the water and soon she could hear the sound of oars hitting the water, and the commands of one of the officers.  
  
Soujiro, with the help of one of the men, lowered the rope ladder over the side so the Navy men could board. All they had left to do was wait. Kaoru hated waiting.  
  
The first man that came up was clearly just a sailor, as was the next. Kaoru nearly swallowed her tongue when Saitou leapt agilely over the railing, followed by his lieutenant, Okita. The two men immediately made a bee-line for Kaoru and she had to fight the instinct that told her to draw her sword.  
  
"Captain Saitou, I must admit to being quite surprised to see you here. To what do I owe the honor?" She kept her voice low, neutral and bowed courteously.  
  
Saitou raised an eyebrow at her. "Can't you guess?" He drawled, sounding slightly amused.  
  
Before she could reply, she saw a flash of red in her peripheral vision. She turned and gaped at Kenshin as he came over the railing, dressed in full uniform. He nodded briefly to some of the men he knew and strode confidently over to Kaoru and her small group.  
  
She closed her mouth and studied him, suddenly feeling quite ill. He had re-joined the Navy? Had he decided not to be with her? That had to be it. She wanted to cry, but kept her expression cool. "Back to being a Captain then, Himura?"  
  
He smiled at her and she frowned. "No, not captain. Commodore, actually."  
  
"Ah." Was all she could say. So he had been enticed back with a promotion. At least he had come to say goodbye, she thought bitterly.  
  
He studied her expression and seemed to realize something. "Perhaps an explanation is in order, Captain Kamiya," he said, reaching into his coat to produce a rolled piece of parchment. "I have here a proposal of sorts, from Admiral Hijikata." He handed her the scroll, his smile returning.  
  
Her curiosity piqued, she took it, broke the seal and began to read. Her eyes widened as she began to understand just what the strangely formal and archaic language was saying. She looked up at Kenshin and he winked, which almost made her giggle.  
  
"What does it say, Captain?" Sano tried to read over her shoulder, but she waved him away.  
  
"We have been authorized by the emperor and Admiral Hijikata to take any ship believed to be an enemy of the empire, by force if necessary." She replied, her eyes on Kenshin.   
  
"What the hell does that mean?" Sano asked, puzzled.  
  
"It means that, according to this document, we are no longer pirates, but privateers, free to take enemy ships with no repercussions from the government." Kaoru said evenly.  
  
"Huh? We work for the government now?" Sano frowned. He didn't like the sound of that.  
  
"Not really. They're just saying that it's okay for us to do what we've always done. We get to keep most of the plunder, too." Kaoru replied, her eyes dropping back to the document in her hands. "And we've all been cleared of any outstanding warrants."  
  
"It sounds too good to be true. What's the catch?" Katsu asked suspiciously.  
  
"We must have a naval representative on board at all times to monitor our activity and ensure that we take no liberties with our new power." Kaoru sounded almost like she wanted to laugh.  
  
"Fuck that. Say no, Kaoru!" Sano hissed.  
  
Katsu elbowed him hard in the stomach. "Don't you get it, idiot?"  
  
"Get what? That they want to control us?" Sano replied angrily, rubbing his stomach.  
  
Katsu just rolled his eyes, so Aoshi decided to explain things. "Who do you think that representative will be, Sano?" He sounded like he was talking to a small, very slow child.  
  
"Umm..." Sano frowned, thinking hard.  
  
"Kenshin, you moron." Katsu growled.  
  
"Oh...OH! I get it!" Sano slammed his fist into his open palm and grinned.  
  
Kaoru rolled her eyes.  
  
Kenshin bit back a laugh. Clearing his throat, he got Kaoru's attention. "Admiral Hijikata asked me to reconsider my resignation. When I hesitated, he offered me a promotion and this particular assignment. I decided that it was an excellent offer."  
  
"Indeed." Kaoru replied, not hiding her smile.  
  
"So, do you agree to the terms?" Saitou cut in, clearly eager to be away. "If you do, then sign the top parchment. I'll deliver it to the Admiral. There's an extra copy there for you, so you can prove your status if you are challenged."  
  
"I do agree. Let us adjourn to my quarters so I can sign this." Kaoru led Saitou, Kenshin, Sano, Katsu and Aoshi below decks to her quarters, immensely pleased that she had remembered to pick up her undergarments and make her bed.   
  
Throwing the parchment onto her desk, Kaoru grabbed her pen, dipped it in the nearest open inkwell and signed the top parchment with a flourish. "All right, Captain Saitou, here's the agreement. Now you can leave."  
  
Saitou rolled the paper and stuck it into his coat. "Fine. I'll send Commodore Himura's things and Yahiko aboard." He marched out, Okita on his heels. Sano looked as though he wanted to stay and say something but Katsu dragged him out, slamming the door hard behind them.  
  
"You are a very clever..." Kaoru began to say, but she wasn't able to finish because Kenshin was on her the moment the door shut. He kissed her breathless, holding her to him with one strong arm wrapped around her waist while his other hand was busy in her hair.  
  
When they finally broke apart, she couldn't stop the silly grin that bloomed on her face. "I missed you, too." She managed, running her hands over any part of him that she could reach. "For a minute there, when I first saw you in your uniform, I thought that you had come to say goodbye."  
  
"No, never. I told you that I would find you Kaoru." He kissed her again, gently this time.   
  
"Was all of this your idea?" She asked, pushing him away so she could get a good look at him.  
  
He grinned. "Most of it. I take it you approve?"  
  
She grinned back. "Oh, most definitely, Commodore."  
  
He suddenly got the most wicked look on his face and walked quickly to her door, which he locked. "I like hearing you call me that, Kaoru. But what I'd really like is to hear you shout it."  
  
She quirked an eyebrow. "And just what are you suggesting, Commodore?" She asked, attempting to look scandalized, but failing.  
  
He pulled her into his arms and whispered exactly what he had in mind into her ear. She blushed bright red and laughed.  
  
"Well, I'm not sure that first one is even possible, but I'm not adverse to a little experimenting." She said, grabbing his hand and leading him towards her bed.  
  
He stopped her before she could pull them both into the soft mattress. "I love you, Kaoru." He murmured, squeezing her hand.  
  
She smiled and pulled her hand away so she was free to throw her arms around his neck. "I love you too, Kenshin. Now, let's see just how loud you can make me shout."  
  
The End.

**  
  
A/N:** Well, that's it. That be all I wrote. sigh Thanks so much for all your support. You guys have been absolutely wonderful and supportive for both fics. For example, 'Between the Devil and the Deep' was nominated for a Rurouni Kenshin Reader's Choice Award in two different categories: Action/Adventure and Alternate Universe.  
  
shameless plug I still need a second for Alternate Universe, if you're so inclined. /shameless plug You should check out the RKRC Awards anyway because there is a plethora of excellent fics to read. I spent hours devouring all the great stuff there, myself. I put a link to it on my author profile page.  
  
Thanks again for being such patient and enthusiastic readers. And thanks to my buddies at the RKDreams Forum who offered opinions and help when I needed it. You guys rock!  
  
P.S. The title for this chapter? Smashing Pumpkins song.


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